Piyush Goyal bats for quick bilateral trade deals with Latin American nations

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal advocated for quick bilateral trade agreements with Latin American nations, citing the need to strengthen partnerships in a bid to overcome the current volatilities in international trade.

“I propose to either expand the MERCOSUR trade agreement or look at trade deals bilaterally,” the minister said at an event on March 19 in New Delhi.

Goyal added that India chose to go for a bilateral trade deal with United Arab Emirates (UAE) when the talks to secure a trade pact with GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations weren’t making much headway.

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into force in May, 2022.

India and MERCOSUR, which is a trading bloc in Latin America comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, has a limited deal in the form of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), inked back in January 2004.

Goyal said that India and Latin American nations should expand its preferential trade given that what's available under the current MERCOSUR trade pact is not sufficient to boost commerce.

The minister highlighted the pace at which trade deals are being negotiated with the likes of Peru and called for faster outcomes.

“We have been talking about a free trade agreement with Peru for a very, very long time. We need to make up our minds on where we want to get with that…FTAs that are negotiated over as much as 20 rounds, negotiated over engagements in once in six months or 12 months can never fructify into solid partnership. We must make up our mind either we do it (FTA), we do it fast. Or we agree to trade the way we are and see what we can do best within our existing arrangement,” Goyal added.

The minister said that India is currently in talks with Chile to expand the PTA between the two to a comprehensive free trade agreement.

Peru and India signed a PTA back in 2005.

“India and Latin American nations have an opportunity to double trade in the next five years. We can't rest on the laurels of bilateral trade of $40 to $45 billion between us,” Goyal said.

India is currently in talks for trade deals with a bunch of other countries and blocs, including United Kingdom, United States, European Union, Oman and New Zealand.