As New Zealand negotiates of a free trade agreement with India, it’s critical to ensure local manufacturing is protected from the impacts of changing geopolitical and internal economic conditions of our trading partners.

COVID has demonstrated the critical need for resilience of local manufacturing and the inter connectedness of local supply chains across local manufacturing and other sectors which enable our economy to survive, exports to be maintained and our people employed.

However, the sector is vulnerable, particularly to cheap and subsidised imports that can result from changing economic conditions of our trading partners.

We’ve seen this happen with China where a construction slowdown has led to aluminium extruders seeking export growth. This has undermined New Zealand’s local aluminium extruders with increased imports of cheaper product. In 2024 imports of aluminium hollows increased by 51% over the previous year at an average value per kg 33% below the value per kg of all hollows imports.

That’s alarming.

Furthermore, by 2024 imports from China that were significantly below best manufactured cost amounted to 21% of all imports of extrusion products like those manufactured in New Zealand.

How can we apply these lessons to the India FTA and ensure local manufacturing is not undermined by the changing geopolitical and / or conditions of the local economies of our FTA partners?

In our submission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we propose the addition of a new chapter in the FTA that:

  • acknowledges the value to New Zealand of local manufacturing, delivering resilience of our economic future
  • includes recognition of best manufactured cost models (by sector) as a benchmark for products like those manufactured in New Zealand
  • institutes electronic monitoring of imports, like those manufactured in New Zealand
  • secures immediate introduction of tariffs (safeguards) on imports below best manufactured cost without the need for local manufacturers to implement costly dumping /subsidy trade cases.

View our submission here: MFAT India FTA