India–New Zealand

Explanation

All three pairs are correctly matched. Rules of Origin (RoO) are the criteria embedded in every FTA to determine the 'economic nationality' of a product — only goods that satisfy the RoO can avail the preferential (reduced or zero) tariff negotiated under the agreement; otherwise the standard MFN tariff applies. A Certificate of Origin (CoO) is the prescribed documentary proof that a product meets those origin criteria; exporters must obtain it (or use an equivalent approved mechanism) to actually claim the duty benefit at the importing country's customs. Sensitive-sector exclusions are a standard feature of FTA architecture: negotiating parties carve out politically sensitive product categories — typically agriculture, dairy, or strategic industries — from the tariff-elimination schedule, meaning the MFN tariff on those items continues to apply even after the FTA enters into force. The India–New Zealand FTA illustrates all three: Indian exporters must satisfy RoO and obtain a CoO to access New Zealand duty-free, while India has kept dairy and certain agricultural products outside tariff liberalisation commitments.

Explanation

A Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) is a two-tier tariff mechanism: imports up to a specified quantity enter at a concessional (lower) duty rate, while quantities beyond the quota face a standard (higher) duty. This is correctly described in Pair 1. A Minimum Import Price (MIP) is a safeguard provision that requires imported goods to have a declared price (typically CIF value) at or above a prescribed floor, protecting domestic producers from artificially cheap or dumped imports. This is correctly described in Pair 2. However, Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: under a TRQ arrangement, it is the EXPORTING country's authorities (in this case, New Zealand's government) — not the importing country's authorities — that issue export certificates to their producers or exporters, specifying the quantity each may export under the quota. The certificate also names the designated Indian importer. The importing country's agency (in India's case, DGFT) issues the TRQ authorisation to the Indian importer, but the export certificate originates from the exporting nation's side. This distinction — that TRQ export certificates flow from the exporter's government, not the importer's — is a core feature of how bilateral TRQ quota management works under FTAs.

Explanation

All three statements reflect established principles of FTA architecture that a well-prepared aspirant should know, with the India–New Zealand FTA serving as the contemporary context. Statement 1 is correct. India routinely excludes dairy, sugar and edible oils from tariff concessions in its FTAs to protect domestic producers — this is a consistent feature of India's FTA strategy, and the India–New Zealand FTA explicitly maintains this exclusion. This is not a unique novelty of this specific FTA but a structural principle of India's trade negotiation policy. Statement 2 is correct. Rules of Origin (RoO) are a foundational element of every FTA. Their purpose is to define what constitutes 'originating' goods — i.e., goods sufficiently produced or transformed in the partner country — so that tariff preferences are not extended to goods merely transshipped or minimally processed from third countries. Anti-circumvention provisions reinforce this. Without robust RoO, a third country could route exports through the FTA partner to access preferential tariffs, defeating the agreement's purpose. Statement 3 is correct. MFN commitments within a services chapter of an FTA work by requiring each party to automatically extend to the FTA partner any better treatment it grants to a non-party in the future, preventing the FTA partner from being disadvantaged relative to later entrants. This is a standard liberalisation ratchet in services trade, and the India–New Zealand FTA's MFN commitments in around 139 sub-sectors follow this logic.