|
India and MERCOSUR have launched negotiations to expand their existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), in a move aimed at deepening economic relations and creating greater trade and business opportunities for companies on both sides.
The announcement was made by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and Uruguay's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mario Lubetkin, who is currently acting in his capacity as the Pro Tempore President of MERCOSUR. MERCOSUR is a regional economic grouping of South American countries. India has an existing Preferential Trade Agreement with the bloc, under which both sides provide preferential tariff concessions on specified products. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in an official statement, stated that the two sides agreed to expand the existing agreement to cover areas of mutual interest. The objective is to further strengthen economic ties and create greater benefits and opportunities for their respective private sectors. India and MERCOSUR are currently working to finalise the Terms of Reference, which will set out the scope and structure of the future expanded trade agreement. The move comes alongside another step to make trade between India and MERCOSUR easier and more digital. The ministry also informed earlier that India and MERCOSUR signed the First Additional Protocol to the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement, aimed at facilitating the acceptance of electronic Certificates of Origin. The protocol was signed by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal, Ambassador of Uruguay to India Alberto Guani and Ambassador of Paraguay to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos, in the presence of Uruguay's Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lubetkin and representatives from the Embassies of Argentina and Brazil. Under the protocol, Certificates of Origin issued electronically will have the same legal validity and identical value as paper certificates. These electronic certificates will have to be issued and digitally signed in line with the domestic laws of the respective countries by authorised entities and officials. The move is expected to support the transition towards digital and paperless trade documentation. It is also aimed at reducing transaction costs and the processing time involved in issuing and verifying Certificates of Origin. The India-MERCOSUR PTA was signed on January 25, 2004, and came into force on June 1, 2009. Under the existing agreement, India provides preferential tariff concessions on 450 tariff lines, while the MERCOSUR side provides concessions on 452 tariff lines. The decision to expand the agreement follows discussions under the Joint Administrative Committee of the India-MERCOSUR PTA. At its fourth meeting on November 27, 2025, both sides supported updating the agreement to facilitate the use of digital Certificates of Origin. The proposal for the additional protocol was later adopted by mutual consent at the fifth meeting of the committee on April 9, 2026. The First Additional Protocol will come into force after India and the MERCOSUR countries complete their respective internal procedures and notify each other. (ANI)
|
