There would be no change for UK whisky exporters, who were already enjoying tariff-free trade.
Spirits New Zealand chief executive, Robert Brewer, said the dropping of tariffs for British gin would not necessarily result in cheaper retail prices, as about 70 - 75 per cent of the retail price of a bottle of imported spirits was made up of GST and excise tax.
"Tariffs and the duties form a small part [of the retail price], so whether or not you'll see price fluctuations as a result of this is a sort of a complex calculation that it's hard to determine whether or not this is gonna play out at the retail end."
Brewer said while the detail behind the agreement in principle still needed to be worked through, he believed the deal was balanced and would deliver benefits for both sides.
New Zealand's spirits industry was small but growing like crazy, Brewer said.
Just 10 years ago there was only a handful of commercial distillers, now there was almost a hundred, he said.
"At the moment, most of the New Zealand distillers are well served by the domestic market, and by markets such as Australia.
"However, it is obvious that the UK as a major, major trading nation and a major trading destination of our houses would be something that New Zealand producers would happily increase their exports to."
Just like New Zealand wine had taken the UK and Europe "by storm," Brewer believed the spirits industry could do the same.
At the moment New Zealand's exported about $30-40 million of spirits each year, but the popularity of these products was growing rapidly, he said.
"New Zealand gins and increasingly, our New Zealand whiskies are specifically and wonderfully New Zealand in their taste and appearance and the production methods."
- RNZ
