Comm Secy's South America visit to boost India's trade diversification push

The secretary will chair joint trade meetings in Argentina and Brazil and take stock of the progress of the proposed comprehensive trade agreement with Chile

India is enhancing its focus on South America as part of its trade diversification strategy, particularly Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, which present significant export opportunities and are expected to strengthen trade ties during Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal's visit from August 24 to 28, an official said.

The secretary will chair joint trade meetings in Argentina and Brazil and take stock of the progress of the proposed comprehensive trade agreement with Chile.

The official said trade pact talks between New Delhi and Santiago are at an advanced stage, and only a few issues need to be resolved.

The issues likely to figure in the Chile meeting include market access and critical minerals.

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.

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

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 negotiation has taken place.

"The new government in Chile is keen on the agreement. Both sides are looking to find solutions to the pending issues," the official said.

With Argentina and Brazil, a proposal to expand the preferential trade agreement between India and the South American nation bloc Mercosur may figure in the meetings during the secretary's visit.

Ways to further boost trade ties will be discussed with Argentina and Brazil, the official noted.

Mercosur is a Latin American trade bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

The India-Mercosur PTA came into effect on June 1, 2009. This PTA has limited coverage and contains only 450 tariff lines or products. Both sides are looking at expanding the scope of this pact.