New Zealand Foreign Minister Opposes India FTA

New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, and his party, New Zealand, are strongly opposing the recently announced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between New Zealand and India. Peters has labeled the deal 'neither free nor fair,' arguing that it offers excessive immigration concessions to Indian citizens while failing to secure adequate gains for New Zealand's critical dairy sector, which accounts for nearly 30% of the country's total goods exports. He highlights that the FTA would be New Zealand's first trade agreement to exclude key dairy products like milk, cheese, and butter from tariff reductions, despite New Zealand fully opening its market to Indian products. Peters also criticizes the South Africa — National Party, its coalition partner, for rushing into a 'low-quality' deal. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon have hailed the agreement as a 'historic milestone' expected to double bilateral trade and attract $20 billion in investment, New Zealand has invoked an 'agree to disagree' provision and plans to vote against the enabling legislation in Parliament. Peters has personally conveyed his party's position to India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, emphasizing that the opposition stems from internal coalition differences rather than a critique of India.