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New Zealand, India still face significant gap on FTA: Kiwi trade official

Xinhua, March 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

New Zealand and India are still facing a significant gap on reaching a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), a senior New Zealand trade official said Friday.

The Indian government was still short on meeting New Zealand's bottom line of an FTA that was "genuinely trade liberalizing," New Zealand Associate Trade Minister Todd McClay said in a published speech to the New Zealand India Business Council in Auckland.

Officials had advised that both sides approach the recent 10th round of negotiations in New Delhi professionally and respectfully, "but there is still a very significant gap which divides us."

"It is going to take real time and commitment to close that gap, " said McClay.

"Our sense is that whilst India has an active economic reform agenda on its plate -- and is actively taking measures to reform its economy -- 'trade policy' as an instrument of reform does not yet seem central to the government's thinking. For that reason, making progress is difficult," he said.

"That said, New Zealand is patient -- we will continue to work on this front, but it may require some broader policy shifts within the India system (much broader than those simply pertaining to a New Zealand-India FTA) before we see the government of India feeling comfortable entertaining the sorts of reforms/changes required by New Zealand to land this FTA," he added. Endi