New Zealand First is regrettably opposed to the India Free Trade Agreement announced today, Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters says.
"We consider the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement to be neither free nor fair," Mr Peters says. "Regrettably, this is a bad deal for New Zealand. It gives too much away, especially on immigration, and does not get enough in return for New Zealanders, including on dairy.
"New Zealand First urged its coalition partner not to rush into concluding a low-quality deal with India, and to use all three years of this Parliamentary cycle in order to get the best possible deal. We also indicated we felt it would be unwise for National to sign up to a deal with India when a Parliamentary majority for that deal was uncertain.
"Unfortunately, these pleas went unheeded. National preferred doing a quick, low-quality deal over doing the hard work necessary to get a fair deal that delivers for both New Zealanders and Indians."
When Cabinet approval for the India deal was sought last week, New Zealand First exercised the agree to disagree provision of its coalition arrangements - while making clear that it would vote against enabling legislation if and when it is introduced to Parliament.
"While New Zealand is completely opening its market to Indian products under this deal, India is not reducing the significant tariff barriers currently facing our major dairy products," Mr Peters says. "This is not a good deal for New Zealand farmers and is impossible to defend to our rural communities."
The India FTA would be New Zealand's first trade deal to exclude our major dairy products - including milk, cheese and butter. In the year to November 2025, New Zealand exports of these products were worth around $24 billion, or 30% of our total goods exports.
"National has also made serious concessions to India in areas that have nothing to do with two-way trade - but rather relate to encouraging the movement of people from India to New Zealand and New Zealand investment in India," Mr Peters says.
"On a per capita basis, National has offered far greater access for India to our labour market than did Australia or the United Kingdom to secure their FTAs. This is deeply unwise given New Zealand's current labour market conditions, with too many New Zealanders in unemployment or doing it tough economically.
"New Zealand First looks at all proposed changes on migration from the same standpoint: do they protect the ability of New Zealanders to find meaningful employment as well as the integrity of our immigration system? The India deal fails that test. By creating a new employment visa specifically for Indian citizens, it is likely to generate far greater interest in Indian migration to New Zealand - at a time when we have a very tight labour market.
"We also hold concerns that the deal ties the hands of future New Zealand Governments. The proposals around the work rights for Indian students, both when they study and after they graduate, would constrain the ability of future governments to make policy changes in response to changing labour market conditions."
New Zealand First's position on the India deal takes nothing away from its efforts to advance the India-New Zealand relationship, Mr Peters says.
"We are deeply committed to the advancement of the India-New Zealand relationship, which is in our country's strategic interests.
"The first visit we took this term as Foreign Minister outside Australia and the Pacific was to India, and we returned there this year. And at our direction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has significantly increased the resources directed to advancing India-NZ relations, both at our Posts in India and at Head Office in Wellington.
"We have known S Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, for a long time, and have the utmost respect for him as an international statesman and champion of New Zealand-India relations. We have communicated to Minister Jaishankar New Zealand First's position on this matter. We have made clear to him that our opposition to the deal is not a critique of the Government of India or its negotiators - but rather the reflection of a difference of opinion between the parties that comprise New Zealand's Coalition Government."
Whether in government or opposition, New Zealand First's approach to trade deals has been consistent, longstanding and principled, Mr Peters says.
"We were, at then Prime Minister Helen Clark's request, instrumental in convincing South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun in 2007 to commit to, and prioritise, free trade negotiations with New Zealand.
"We also led the international diplomacy with then-Trade Minister David Parker to deliver the Comprehensive and Progressive Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP), which opened up for New Zealand meaningfully new access to the Japanese and Canadian markets.
"On the other hand, New Zealand First opposed the China FTA because we believed the phase-in periods for tariff reductions were far too long and the technical assistance being offered to China, as a developing country, was too generous.
"New Zealand First's longstanding approach has been to support those FTAs that deliver a good deal for New Zealanders and to oppose those that do not."
