Winston needs political oxygen to pretend he can go with Labour or National, so he’s complaining about the Free trade deal with India.
NZ needs to diversify away from China because Chinese trade comes with as many fish hooks as free trade does with America, but how is the solution signing a Trade deal with India who are becoming more authoritarian with their Nationalist religious fervour?
Modi’s Government is very prepared to use all sorts of dirty tactics to attack his political enemies and his whipping up of anti-Muslim rhetoric is a real concern.
Moving away from Communist China to get closer to an openly racist India doesn’t seem like much of a strategic move, especially when India’s interest is not in our trade but in gaining more Indian migrant workers access to NZ.
NZ already has a huge problem with exploiting Indian migrant workers, how is opening that up more with little in return a win for NZ?
As the ever brilliant Professor Jane Kelsey points out…
“When the Prime Minister announced he would secure a free trade agreement (FTA) with India during the term of this government he scored another own goal. India, with whom New Zealand had spent many previous years in futile negotiations for a FTA, knew it could simply dictate the terms to a government desperate for a political trophy”, according to Auckland University Professor Emeritus of law Jane Kelsey, who closely follows India’s trade negotiations.
“Today’s announcement that a worthwhile deal has been sealed in just eight months and a handful of negotiating rounds, needs to be taken with a sack of salt”,
Kelsey notes that the government’s announcement comes with no means of verification.
“There is no public text and very little information has been released throughout the short negotiation. So, there is no way to independently assess the government’s claims. Nor do we know that India will actually see agreement this through to ratification and implementation.”
Given New Zealand’s relative insignificance, India’s Ministers and negotiators will have sought precedents they can press on countries of far greater significance, such as securing guaranteed access for its migrant workforce, while avoiding concessions that would set a bad precedent and create political problems, such as granting market access concessions for New Zealand’s dairy products that would antagonise its tens of millions of politically-active dairy farmers.
In parallel, India been more been focused on other international priorities, including FTAs with the European Union, United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, and its pivotal role in the deeply troubled World Trade Organization.
The minimal outcomes of those negotiations show put promises of tangible gains for New Zealand into perspective.
The UK and India, the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies, concluded a FTA in July 2025 after three and a half years and 15 rounds of negotiations. The UK’s own impact assessment predicts a derisory increase to its gross GDP of 0.13%, or £4.8 billion “in the long run”, with 0.06% or £45.1 billion for India.[1]
Professor Kelsey called for evidence-based public debate and engagement before any further negotiations are launched that sink scarce public resources into what have become little more than political notches on the government’s belt.
…Winston won’t agree to this deal because migrant labour is a favourite target for his redneck followers, so why is Labour supporting a mass immigration Free Trade Deal with India?
Because Labour see the votes in it. The Indian/Kiwi electorate is large in NZ and any Party seen as favourable will pick up votes.
This isn’t about free trade, this is about guaranteeing access for Indian workers into NZ.
This is going to become an ugly political football.
The easiest way for Labour to avoid the ugliness is by demanding an extra amendment which is that ALL Indian migrants workers must join a Union so that they can’t be exploited.
If Labour refuses to acknowledge the problems with mass immigration and ensure ALL migrant workers join Unions to ensure they can’t be exploited. then Winston is going to ride the resentment and petty bigotry all the way to the election.
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