Commerce Secy to visit Chile this month to review progress of trade pact talks: Official

Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal will visit South American nation Chile later this month to take stock of the progress of the India-Chile trade agreement, an official said on Wednesday.

India and Chile implemented a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2006 and are now negotiating to widen its scope for a CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement).

CEPA aims to build upon the existing PTA between the two nations and seeks to encompass a broader range of sectors, including digital services, investment promotion and cooperation, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises), and critical minerals.

The official said that during the secretary's visit, the progress of negotiations will be reviewed.

"If we get a good deal, we are on ... if we do not get a good deal, I do not have a gun on my head...," the official added.

Chile is the fifth-largest trading partner of India in the LAC (Latin American Countries) region. The two countries have held four rounds of negotiations, with the last round being held in December 2025 here.

Since the last engagement, there has been a change of government in Chile following the December 2025 elections. A conservative government led by Jose Antonio Kast, who won the 2025 presidential election, assumed office on March 11, 2026. Since then, no formal negotiating round has taken place.

India-Chile PTA came into effect from September, 2007 and it covers 474 tariff lines or product categories. Its scope was expanded to 2,829 tariff lines in September 2016.

The two countries have now decided to negotiate a CEPA for which Terms of Reference were finalized in April 2025.

Chile, a key member of South America's "Lithium Triangle" and a major global exporter of copper, is strategically important for India's electric vehicle (EV) and renewable energy supply chains. The proposed CEPA includes a dedicated provision on trade in critical and strategic minerals, which could help facilitate India's access to Chilean lithium and copper.

According to experts, a key priority for India would be to establish safeguards against sudden supply disruptions and arbitrary export restrictions, while creating stable and reliable off-take channels for EV battery and solar cell manufacturing.

The senior government official also said that India is going ahead with the negotiations for a Preferential Trade Agreement with the Mercosur bloc.

Mercosur is a trading bloc in Latin America, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

India may also negotiate the pact with Mexico and Kenya.