India-NZ FTA sets the table for Kiwi wine in the country

As the landmark India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) officially enters into force on Tuesday, October 20, many a wine connoisseur is up for a treat. Some are the days of paying obscene duties on a bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or Central Otago Pinot Noir. And this partly has to do with the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) legal guarantees provided by the FTA.

In India, wine is classified under HS Heading 2204, within the 4.37 per cent of tariff lines subject to partial tariff reductions rather than immediate duty elimination or outright exclusion.

The Side Letter on Wine (Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment) states: "The Government of the Republic of India affirms that from the entry into force of the Agreement, imports from New Zealand of goods classified under HS Heading 2204 in India’s tariff schedule shall be subject to treatment as favourable as that provided to imports of like goods from any non-Party with respect to customs duties and charges of any kind imposed on or in connection with importation, with respect to the method of levying such duties and charges and, with respect to minimum CIF value of import."

This means that if India ever offers lower wine duties or relaxed minimum CIF import values to any other trade partner in the futures, New Zealand winemakers automatically get those exact same advantages.

Currently, New Zealand’s domestic Geographical Indications (GI) legislation exclusively permits registration for foreign wines and spirits. Through the Side Letter on Geographical Indications, Wellington commits to reviewing Chapter 11 within six months and amending domestic legislation to ensure "no less favourable treatment is applied... than is provided under the New Zealand - European Union Free Trade Agreement or any other international agreement of New Zealand, including making available such protection to wines, spirits and other goods from India."

New Zealand is home to Central Otago Pinot Noir, the flagship red wine of New Zealand’s southernmost viticultural region, and Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, the flagship white wine, grown in the cool-climate valleys of the South Island’s Marlborough Wine Region.

With the FTA focusing on viticulture research through new agricultural Centres of Excellence, Indian wine lovers can look forward to better availability, competitive pricing, and higher quality spirits from Kiwi vineyards in the years to come.