India, Chile expand preferential trade pact

India and Chile have signed an agreement to expand their preferential trade agreement (PTA) several fold, to cover more goods.

Under the expanded PTA signed by commerce secretary Rita Teaotia and Chile's ambassador Andrés Barbé González, in Chile today, the south American country has offered concessions to India on 1,798 tariff lines with margin of preference (MoP) ranging from 30 per cent to 100 per cent, while India has offered concessions to Chile on 1,031 tariff lines with MoP ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent.

India's export basket with Chile is diversified and keeping in view the wide variety of tariff lines offered by Chile, the expanded PTA would immensely benefit India, a commerce ministry statement said.

India and Chile had signed a PTA earlier on 8 March 2006, which came into force in August 2007. In the original PTA, India's offer list to Chile consisted of 178 tariff lines with the margin of preference ranging from 10 per cent to 50 per cent while Chile's offer list to India consisted of 296 tariff lines with MoP ranging from 10 per cent to 100 per cent.

Chile was the third-largest trading partner of India among the LAC countries during 2015-16. India's bilateral trade with Chile stood at $2.64 billion with exports at $0.68 billion and imports at $1.96 billion, respectively, during 2015-16.

India's has a diverse exports basket to Chile, ranging from transport equipment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, yarn of polyester fibres, tyres and tubes, manufacture of metals, articles of apparel, organic / inorganic and agro chemicals, textiles, readymade garments, plastic goods, leather products, engineering goods, imitation jewellery, sports goods and handicrafts.

Major items of import from Chile are copper ore and concentrates, iodine, copper anodes, copper cathodes, molybdenum ores and concentrates, lithium carbonates and oxide, metal scrap, inorganic chemicals, pulp and waste paper, fruits and nuts excluding cashews, fertilisers and machinery.

Chile has been cooperating with India at the International fora and expansion of India Chile PTA will enhance the trade and economic relations between the two countries. The expansion would be an important landmark in India-Chile relations and consolidate the traditional fraternal relations that have existed between India and LAC countries, the release added.