Datanomics: India-New Zealand deal begins under historical deficit shadow | Economy & Policy News

The India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into effect on Tuesday, allowing both countries tariff-free market access that will significantly benefit exports and imports. Interestingly, India has signed FTAs and other trade agreements with nine individual countries and one regional bloc comprising ten nations since 1998. In approximately 27.5 years, India recorded an aggregate trade deficit with these countries in 26.5 of those years; 2002 was the only year it achieved a trade surplus. Furthermore, out of these 19 partner countries, India ran a trade deficit with eight in 1998, a number that expanded to 13 countries by 2025. India’s trade deficit with the 19 countries was $5.7 billion in 1998. However, in 2002, India saw a trade surplus of $0.9 billion. Since then, India has seen deficits again, and by 2025, it recorded a trade deficit totalling $110 billion. Countries such as the UAE, Singapore, and South Korea account for half of India’s total imports from these 19 nations.