India will never open up the dairy sector to free trade, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday shortly after New Delhi announced the conclusion of a free trade agreement with New Zealand. ADVERTISEMENTGoyal said talks with Washington over a trade pact were at an “advanced stage” and that New Delhi will soon launch talks for the terms of a trade deal with Canada. Also Read New Zealand and India announce free trade agreement to boost bilateral tradeUnder the India-New Zealand free trade agreement, a host of domestic goods from sectors such as textiles, footwear, engineering and marine products will get duty-free access in New Zealand. This market access enhances the competitiveness of India's labour-intensive sectors, including textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, engineering goods and automobiles, it said. Bilateral merchandise trade reached USD 1.3 billion in 2024-25, while total trade in goods and services stood at about USD 2.4 billion in 2024, with services trade alone reaching USD 1.24 billion, led by travel, IT and business services.

Source: The Telegraph December 22, 2025 07:48 UTC