CII Urges Indian Exporters, MSMEs to Move Early to Tap India-New Zealand FTA Opportunities

New Delhi, Oct 22 (KNN) Indian exporters, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), should engage with New Zealand buyers, check product-specific rules of origin and leverage government support schemes to maximise benefits from the recently implemented free trade agreement (FTA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Thursday.

Sanjay Budhia, Chairman of the CII National Committee on Exports and Managing Director of Patton International Ltd., noted that exporters should move early to tap the opportunities created by the agreement, which came into force on October 20.

“I urge exporters, especially MSMEs, to move early, engage with New Zealand buyers, check product-specific rules of origin, and make full use of schemes such as the Export Promotion Mission. New Zealand can also serve as a gateway to the wider Oceania and Pacific Island markets,” he said, as quoted by PTI.

Budhia noted that New Zealand could also serve as a gateway for Indian businesses to access wider markets in Oceania and the Pacific Islands.

The agreement provides Indian exporters duty-free access across all tariff lines in New Zealand, removing duties of up to 10 per cent on products such as engineering goods, textiles, leather and footwear.

Broad Sectoral Benefits

The pact is expected to benefit sectors including engineering goods, chemicals, plastics, electronics, pharmaceuticals and processed foods, alongside labour-intensive industries such as textiles and leather.

Budhia said streamlined sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and technical barriers to trade (TBT) procedures, electronic certification, and acceptance of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) inspection reports would help reduce compliance costs for exporters.

(KNN Bureau)