India Has Kept Dairy Out of Every Trade Deal. The US Deal Is Unlikely to Be Different
India’s free trade agreement with New Zealand came into force on Tuesday, with milk and dairy products like cheese, cream, whey and yoghurt, excluded from the deal. The world’s largest dairy exporter signed a trade deal with the world’s largest milk producer, and India kept its dairy market closed. The exclusion is the latest entry in a pattern that now spans more than a decade of Indian trade diplomacy. With the US talks at a delicate stage, it is also the strongest indicator yet of where they are likely to end up.
Signed on April 27, the agreement gives Indian goods 100 per cent duty-free access to New Zealand, covering textiles, footwear, engineering products and pharmaceuticals. India’s side of the bargain is narrower. It has offered concessions on 70.03 per cent of its tariff lines and excluded the remaining 29.97 per cent, which include milk, cream, whey, yoghurt and cheese.
Read more at: https://tfipost.com/2026/10/india-has-kept-dairy-out-of-every-trade-deal-the-us-deal-is-unlikely-to-be-different/
- 22 Oct 2026
- OurVoice
