According to a Downing Street statement, the deal will cut red tape for businesses, end tariffs on UK exports and create new opportunities for tech and services companies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Jacinda Ardern sealed the deal in a joint Zoom call after 16 months of talks.
“This is a great trade deal for the United Kingdom, which strengthens our longstanding friendship with New Zealand and advances our ties with the Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said.
The deal follows advanced free trade agreements already signed by the United Kingdom in the region with Australia and Japan.
“The deal serves New Zealand’s economy and exporters well as we reconnect, rebuild and move into the future from Covid-19,” Ardern told a news conference in Wellington.
All tariffs on all products between the two countries will be abolished. UK-New Zealand trade stood at £2.3 billion ($3.2 billion) last year and is set to grow under the new arrangement.
During a Zoom call, Johnson said New Zealand products loved by British consumers, from Sauvignon Blanc wine to Manuka honey and kiwi fruit, will be available cheaply.
Meanwhile, Ardern called the United Kingdom and New Zealand “great friends and close companions”.
“The historical ties that bind us run deep,” he said, adding that the trade deal “is good for our economies, our businesses and our people.”
.