India FTA negotiations start

The Herald reports:

India and New Zealand have begun negotiations for a free trade agreement which Trade Minister Tim Groser says will put New Zealand in a prime place to benefit from India’s economic growth. …

Mr Groser said a deal held “great promise” for New Zealand businesses and negotiators would target the high barriers to trade. India had a population of more than one billion and was expected to be the third-largest economy in the world by 2025.

India’s GDP currently is US1.2 trillion – around ten times the size of New Zealand’s

He expected negotiations to be prolonged. India was not one of New Zealand’s traditional trading partners, partly because the high trade barriers on major New Zealand exports, such as wood products and agriculture, had held back trade.

That suggests the benefits of an FTA with India could be a lot larger than with countries with relatively low barriers.