"The EU and New Zealand have today signed their free trade agreement (FTA), which will deliver significant gains for the EU. The deal will cut some €140 million [$153 million] a year in duties for EU companies from the first year of application. As a result, bilateral trade is expected to grow by up to 30% within a decade, thanks to this deal, with EU annual exports potentially growing by up to €4.5 billion," the European Commission said in a statement.
To finally go into effect, the agreement must be approved by the European Parliament and ratified by New Zealand, the statement read.
The European Union is already New Zealand's third biggest trade partner, and with the new agreement, EU investment in New Zealand will probably increase by 80%, even, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The bloc and New Zealand had been negotiating a free trade agreement since 2018.
In 2022, bilateral trade totaled 9.1 billion euros, with New Zealand mainly exporting agricultural products to the EU and the union supplying manufactured goods to the country.