India’s first women-led FTA is a win for exports, shield for farmers |
The India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), being signed on Monday, marks a defining milestone in India’s engagement with the developed world. It reflects a decisive advancement in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of transforming global economic partnerships into tangible gains for farmers, women, youth, and job-creating industries.
The FTA follows a series of landmark trade pacts with major developed economies, including the United Kingdom and EU. These agreements strengthen India’s position in global markets and provide exporters with a competitive edge in some of the world’s most lucrative economies, even amid ongoing global uncertainty and volatility.
At the core of the win-win agreement is New Zealand’s commitment to immediately eliminate tariffs on all Indian products, removing a significant barrier in a market where our key exports currently face duties of 10 per cent.
This is a major boost for labour-intensive sectors such as garments, carpets, yarn, fabrics, footwear, bags, belts, automobile components, machinery, tools, gems and jewellery, and handicrafts. These job-creating industries form the backbone of India’s MSME ecosystem and will benefit from price competitiveness and market access. This will boost exports and trigger large-scale employment generation across manufacturing clusters, artisan communities, and small enterprises.
This agreement reflects the broader philosophy guiding India’s trade policy since the Modi government was formed in 2014. It is rooted in........