Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made a huge election promise that he would secure a free trade agreement with India, but what will that deal actually look like?
Leading a delegation to India is always going to prove valuable for New Zealand. Deals will be struck, relationships strengthened, and progress made.
However, when Christopher Luxon has made huge promises about achieving free trade with India this term, I worry that he’ll prioritise saving face ahead of getting the best deal for New Zealanders.
Trade should never be political. We’ve seen Luxon’s promise been dubbed “ill-advised”, with Trade Minister Todd McClay already cushioning the blow by claiming he’d cop the blame for his boss, if they failed.
Leaders shouldn’t make trade deals about themselves. It leads to situations like these, where we possibly see Luxon striking a deal to save his own skin at the risk of the dairy industry and our own farmers losing out.
The Labour Government took significant steps in investing in our ties with India. As Trade Minister, I made a number of trips. And, alongside Labour Ministers, we built relationships through business trips, diplomatic calls and of course, banter about the cricket. There were many conversations over our time in Government about what a trade deal might look like with India.
But the problem was always the dairy sectors and our own farmers getting a good deal into a market that appreciates and consumes large volumes of dairy products. And for good reason.
India’s local farmers work hard and compete in a small-scale way. We know their industry leaders are very concerned about the possible impacts on their livelihoods when it comes to an international deal that includes dairy.
We made good progress on education, tourism and potential migrants – with international education being a key point of our relationship.
An excellent example of this is the New Zealand Centre at the India Institute of Technology in New Delhi. But there was always that sticking point. Labour was not prepared to abandon New Zealand dairy farmers in any trade deal with India.
Labour secured or upgraded seven free trade agreements while in Government, unlocking new opportunities for Kiwi exporters. We know how important it is to get right so that New Zealanders can reap the most rewards.
Luxon must ensure any comprehensive agreement he signs with India, has our dairy sector included.
Claiming they’d secure a comprehensive free trade agreement in this term of government was naïve at best. A claim that dairy could be set aside and negotiated afterwards is also naïve.
I do hope for New Zealand, the trip goes well – but if Luxon settles for anything less than an agreement that includes our dairy sector, then it’s a broken promise.