India Plans to Finalize Trade Agreement with Chile This Year

Gist India and Chile are accelerating negotiations to finalize their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA by the end of the year. The proposed trade deal aims to create an equitable and commercially meaningful framework for businesses in both nations, leveraging their shared identity as members of the Global South. For UPSC aspirants, this development highlights India's strategic push to expand its economic footprint in Latin America and secure favorable terms of trade in critical sectors like energy and minerals. Background India and Chile are currently negotiating a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement CEPA to upgrade their bilateral trade relationship. Formal negotiations commenced in May following the signing of the Terms of Reference on May 8 . A CEPA is a deep-tier trade agreement that typically encompasses a wider range of economic activities than a standard Free Trade Agreement FTA , extending beyond just the trade of goods to include services, investment, and regulatory cooperation. Prior to this aggressive push, the two nations traded under existing frameworks, but the new CEPA is expected to institutionalize a more structured, balanced, and broad-based economic…