"India and Chile to Begin Comprehensive Trade Pact Talks"
Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)
reduces tariffs on an agreed goods list without eliminating them entirely.
CEPA
a wider agreement covering goods, services, and investment together.
India and Chile have maintained diplomatic relations for over seven decades, built mainly around an existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), in force since 2007 and later expanded to cover more tariff lines. A PTA reduces tariffs on a limited, agreed list of goods without removing them altogether. It is narrower than a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which eliminates tariffs across most goods, and narrower still than a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which typically adds services, investment, and other economic cooperation on top of goods trade. The move to negotiate a full economic agreement marks an upgrade from this older, limited framework.
India's trade architecture with Latin America has historically been thin compared to its engagement with Asia or Africa. Chile, however, holds a distinctive place: it has the world's largest copper reserves and is among the top global sources of lithium, both central to clean energy and battery technologies. As China has deepened its economic footprint across resource-rich regions, India has been trying to diversify its own access to such minerals, making Chile a natural partner for supply security, not just market access.
The centrepiece of the new engagement is cooperation between Chile's state-owned CODELCO, the world's largest copper producer, and Hindustan Copper Limited, India's sole vertically integrated copper producer under the Ministry of Mines. Their agreement on exploration and information-sharing is meant to help India secure copper supplies while CODELCO reduces its dependence on the Chinese market. This sits within India's broader critical minerals diplomacy. India joined the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), a multilateral grouping formed to secure supply chains for minerals essential to clean energy, in 2023. In the same year, Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023, which empowers the Central Government to exclusively auction mining leases and composite licences for specified critical minerals such as lithium, and later helped identify a list of 30 critical minerals for India. …
Consider the following statements:
I.India has joined the Minerals Security Partnership as a member.
II.India is a resource-rich country in all the 30 critical minerals that it has identified.
III.The Parliament in 2023 has amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 empowering the Central Government to exclusively auction mining lease and composite license for certain critical minerals.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
With reference to the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), consider the following statements: 1. It was formed to secure supply chains for critical minerals essential to clean energy technologies. 2. India became a member in 2023. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following statements about the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023 is correct?
Consider the following statements regarding trade agreement types: 1. A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) reduces tariffs on an agreed list of goods without eliminating them entirely. 2. A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) generally covers trade in goods and services as well as investment. 3. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is narrower in scope than a PTA. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Match List I (Mineral) with List II (a country holding leading global reserves/production of that mineral) and select the correct answer using the code given below: List I:
1.Copper
2.Platinum-Group Metals
3.Lithium; List II:
A.Chile
B.South Africa
C.Australia
Consider the following statements: 1. India acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983. 2. Chile's geographical location has made it a key logistical gateway for Antarctic research expeditions. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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