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6:00 am, December 27th, 2025 - 5 comments
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Step up to the mike …
https://www.commerce.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Fact-Sheet-NZ-FTA-dec-22-for-Website-ver2.pdf
I looked up how the Indians are promoting the draft FTA with NZ.
It is hard not to be nonplussed by:
1: all Indian exports to NZ immediately are duty free, while 30% of ours to them are excluded (to protect the Indian economy) and most of the rest are tariff reductions, not eliminations.
2: The $20b US of nz investment in India (mandatory) is said to boost employment in the Indian economy. S#!+ If that was only spent here on job and skills development what a bonus it would be!
3: Joining the dots on just those two points, we spend $20b US upskilling Indians who can then send what they produced with their up skills to NZ with complete duty free access. That's going to put a lot of kiwi businesses on the back foot.
4: Check out the bit where "numerical caps" on Indian students are REMOVED and every student is allowed a MINIMUM of 20 hours work each week. Join the dots on that one. For the price of a tertiary paper fee, whether or not you turn up for lectures, you can work as much as you want.
So, not only are we paying Indians to upskill in India to the tune of $20b US, we're offering essentially free education to an unlimited number of Indians to upskill themselves in NZ. Both groups of up skilled workers then have duty-free access for their products and services into NZ, whether or not they compete with kiwi industries we want to give global competitiveness to, in our own right.
The whole thing reeks to me of India getting everything and giving away as much as it thinks it needs to to convince dumb kiwis that they are getting runs on the board. From NZs point of view, it seems to me to have been negotiated without considering a 'bottom line' below which it's not in our interest to go. The Holy Grail seems to have been the agreement itself, not the gains it should represent (at least in NZs case)
I think a free trade deal that gives both sides the opportunity to get wins on the things that are important to them would be great but IMHO this isn't it.
I just re-read my earlier comment. To avoid any doubt, I think the Indian negotiators did a sterling job at getting as many gains for their side of the table as they could.
Just wondering if our people did the same…
I can’t help but be amazed by:
Unprecedented Student Mobility and Post-Study Opportunities: For the first time with
any country, New Zealand has created a dedicated pathway on Student Mobility and Post-
Study Work Visas with India. The Agreement removes numerical caps on Indian students,
guarantees a minimum of 20 hours per week work during study, and provides extended
post-study work opportunities-up to three years for STEM Bachelor’s and Master’s
graduates, and up to four years for Doctorate holders-creating clear pathways for skills
development and global career
What does the guarantee of a minimum of 20 hours work per week per student for an unlimited number of students mean?
How does the government give effect to it’s GUARANTEE?
The moment Luxon put a timeline of having the FTA done this term, Indian negotiators know they had him over a barrel. He’d agree to anything. And he did.
Winston is correct. It is a low grade shabby deal, by an inexperienced PM.
$20 billion to educate foreigners while we saddle our kids with student debt, !!!