New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) Legal verification of the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has been completed, with both countries agreeing to its signing in New Delhi on April 27 in the presence of a large contingent of representatives of businesses from the two countries, Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay said on Monday.

In a statement, McClay said, “This once-in-a-generation agreement gives our exporters unprecedented access to 1.4 billion people and an economy set to become the third-largest in the world.”

He pointed out that with so much global unrest, a trade agreement with India has never been more important for New Zealand’s prosperity.

“Signing the FTA allows New Zealand to initiate a formal parliamentary treaty examination and means the public can scrutinise the agreement in full,” the minister said.

“Signature also ensures we remain on track to benefit from a Most Favoured Nation clause for wine and services exports. The European Union has secured better access for wine and services which will automatically be extended to our exporters if our agreement enters into force first. This will be worth tens of millions of dollars in extra exports for the New Zealand economy,” McClay observed.

The historic agreement was concluded in December and eliminates or reduces tariffs on 95 per cent of New Zealand’s exports – among the highest of any Indian FTA. Almost 57 per cent of our exports will be duty-free from day one including lamb, wool, coal, leather, most forestry and industrial products.

This will increase to 82 per cent when fully implemented including infant formula, a kiwifruit quota almost four times our current exports and seafood. The remaining 13 per cent including kiwifruit, apples, mānuka honey, wine and some dairy is subject to sharp tariff cuts.

McClay confirmed the government will follow the established parliamentary treaty examination process for the India FTA, allowing all parties to continue considering their support as the public also scrutinises the agreement.

Signing will activate the standard parliamentary process, allowing Parliament and the public to scrutinise the agreement through the Select Committee. The FTA text and National lnterest Analysis will be tabled in Parliament the day after signing and referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee (FADTC), according to the official statement.

Once FADTC has completed its examination, enabling legislation will be introduced and will follow the usual legislative process. This approach is consistent with that taken for the TPP, CPTPP, and agreements with the United Kingdom, European Union, and United Arab Emirates, the statement said.

–IANS

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