Critical minerals chapter in India-Chile FTA may be extended to Peru

Critical Minerals

India’s proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with Chile will be the first to feature a dedicated chapter on critical minerals, potentially serving as a template for future trade pacts, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Feb 16.

“Chile FTA is the first FTA where we are discussing a chapter on critical minerals, and depending on the outcome there, we may bring it up with Peru also. Beyond that, it will depend on various countries and their profile,” he said.

On Latin America more broadly, Agrawal said discussions are underway to expand India’s preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mercosur into a full-fledged trade agreement.

“We have a joint trade committee under the existing Mercosur PTA and the committee meeting is happening. Under that, we are discussing expansion of the PTA’s scope to a conventional FTA. Both sides want to do it. Teams are deciding on the scope of the future expansion, and that should be done in the next few months,” he said.

Turning to other geographies, Agrawal said India looking to close negotiations for the proposed trade deal with “as soon as possible,” while with Canada, both sides are engaged in finalising the terms of reference for an FTA.

Agrawal also said the government is making efforts to operationalise the trade deal with the United Kingdom by April this year.

The free trade agreement between India and the United Kingdom was signed on July 24, 2025, marking the culmination of more than three years of negotiations.