With the fourth round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) concluding last week in New Delhi, government sources have told CNBC-TV18 that India has shared its market-access offers with Chile, and that the trade talks are expected to take time.
Sources said critical minerals will remain a key pillar of the potential trade deal. The talks were described as “constructive and solution-oriented” by a government official, who added that substantial progress has been made across the chapters under discussion. Broad convergence has been reached on key textual elements and pending proposals, with most chapters now nearing conclusion.
On December 1, India’s Commerce Ministry had indicated that several chapters were already close to closure ahead of the five-day fourth round, with major issues like market access and critical and strategic minerals on the table. The Ministry had said both sides remain committed to concluding the agreement soon and are optimistic about the negotiations. The third round of talks, held in Santiago from October 27–30, covered Trade in Goods and Services, Investment Promotion, Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property Rights, TBT/SPS measures, Economic Cooperation, and Critical Minerals.
In September, government sources told CNBC-TV18 that India’s potential FTAs with Chile and Peru may include a separate chapter on critical minerals for the first time. India imports gold from Peru, and lithium, copper, and molybdenum from Chile, and is seeking preferential exploration rights as well as stable, long-term pricing to secure future supply chains.
Although Indian companies can already participate in copper-mine auctions in Chile, officials earlier noted that India’s current per-capita copper consumption is less than half that of developed countries and is expected to rise sharply as the economy grows. While India is trying to secure future supply chains, Peru and Chile are looking to diversify their trade partners to avoid any single country stockpiling their mineral reserves and influencing future prices. Sources also explained that despite copper ore being sold at refined-copper prices, China is paying a premium by absorbing extraction and refining costs—raising concerns about future monopolisation of copper trade.
Market access
On market access, sources said even limited opening would be a significant gain for Chile given the size of the Indian market. A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) has existed between India and Chile since September 2007, under which both sides agreed to offer fixed tariff preferences, along with annexes on Rules of Origin, Preferential Safeguard Measures, and Dispute Settlement Procedures.
India had offered tariff preferences ranging from 10% to 50% on 178 tariff lines at the eight-digit level. Chile had offered preferences on 296 tariff lines, with margins ranging from 10% to 100%.
India’s tariff concessions covered meat and fish products (84 lines), rock salt (1), iodine (1), copper ore and concentrates (1), chemicals (13), leather products (7), newsprint and paper (6), wood and plywood articles (42), several industrial products (12), shorn wool and wool noils (3), and other items (7).
Chile’s offer covered agricultural products (7 lines), chemicals and pharmaceuticals (53), dyes and resins (7), plastics, rubber and miscellaneous chemicals (14), leather products (12), textiles and clothing (106), footwear (10), industrial products (82), and other items (5).
