India and Chile are pushing to conclude their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations in 2026, as bilateral trade climbed to US$5.38 billion in calendar 2025.
The latest talks are about more than reducing tariffs. For India, access to Chile’s mineral resources, particularly critical minerals, is emerging as an important part of the economic relationship. For Chile, the negotiations offer a route into one of the world’s largest consumer and industrial markets.
Trade Crosses $5 Billion
India-Chile trade has expanded sharply, although the two countries report trade using different periods.
According to the Embassy of India’s latest bilateral brief, trade rose from US$3.84 billion in 2024 to US$5.38 billion in 2025. Indian exports increased 14% to US$1.41 billion, while imports from Chile jumped 53% to US$3.97 billion. The embassy attributes the rise in imports mainly to increased gold purchases from Chile.
India’s financial-year data presents a lower figure because it covers April 2024 to March 2025. Department of Commerce data shows bilateral trade at US$3.758 billion in FY2024-25, including exports of US$1.154 billion and imports of US$2.604 billion.
The difference is therefore largely a matter of reporting periods, not conflicting estimates.
From PTA To CEPA
The proposed CEPA would build on an existing preferential trade arrangement between the two countries.
India has had a Preferential Trade Agreement with Chile since 2006, with the agreement expanded in 2016. Formal CEPA negotiations moved forward in 2025 after the two sides signed the Terms of Reference on May 8, 2025. The first negotiating round began later that month.
The fourth round concluded in New Delhi on December 5, 2025. Government records say the negotiations had made progress across the chapters under discussion, with both sides reiterating their commitment to a timely conclusion.
The proposed agreement is considerably broader than the existing PTA. Negotiating areas include trade in goods and services, investment, rules of origin, intellectual property, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, economic cooperation and critical minerals.
Critical Minerals Take Centre Stage
Critical minerals give the negotiations a strategic dimension.
India’s Commerce Ministry has identified critical and strategic minerals as one of its key asks in the CEPA. The negotiations have included a dedicated critical-minerals chapter, alongside conventional trade provisions.
The issue matters because India’s trade relationship with Chile already has a strong mineral component. India’s imports from Chile include copper concentrate, molybdenum, iodine and gold, along with agricultural products and other goods, according to the Indian Embassy.
India’s exports to Chile, meanwhile, include automobiles, pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, chemicals, agricultural and food products, iron and steel products and leather goods.
A critical-minerals chapter could therefore provide a formal framework for deeper cooperation in an area that is already important to bilateral commerce.
Both Sides Seek Diversification
Chile also has an incentive to deepen the relationship. Its international economic relations authority said after the August 26 meeting with Agrawal that the CEPA is a priority within Chile’s strategy of diversifying its export markets. Chilean officials highlighted India’s potential as a market for expanding the country’s export offering.
The scale of the opportunity is visible in Chile’s trade data. Chilean Customs figures cited by India’s Embassy show that India was Chile’s 7th-largest overall trading partner in 2025, with bilateral trade of about US$5.393 billion.
Yet the relationship remains relatively concentrated. Chile’s exports to India were worth about US$3.97 billion in 2025, compared with Indian exports of about US$1.42 billion on Chilean Customs data.
2026 Deadline Raises Stakes
The latest diplomatic engagement gives the negotiations renewed momentum. On August 26, 2026, Chilean Undersecretary Paula Estévez met India’s Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal to review progress and continue the CEPA process. Chile described the meeting as part of its effort to advance the negotiations and diversify its export markets.
India has separately reiterated its commitment to concluding the trade negotiations within 2026.
For New Delhi, the agreement’s significance lies in combining conventional market access with a strategic minerals relationship. For Santiago, it offers greater access to a large and diversified market.
The negotiations are therefore no longer simply about expanding a US$5-billion trade relationship. They are about determining whether India and Chile can turn that existing trade base into a broader framework covering goods, services, investment and critical minerals.
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