Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)
between India and Chile
- A Framework Agreement to Promote Economic Cooperation between India and Chile
was signed on January 20, 2005. The Framework Agreement envisaged a Preferential
Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries as a first step.
- As a follow up to the Framework Agreement, a PTA was finalized after four
rounds of negotiations between the two sides. The last round of negotiations was
held in New Delhi in November 2005. The PTA has two Annexes relating to the list
of products on which the two sides have agreed to give fixed tariff preferences
to each other and three Annexes relating to the Rules of Origin, Preferential
Safeguard Measures and Dispute Settlement Procedures
- While India has offered to provide fixed tariff preferences ranging from 10%
to 50% on 178 tariff lines at the 8 digit level to Chile, the latter have
offered us tariff preferences on 296 tariff lines at the 8 digit level with
margin of preference ranging from 10% to 100%.
- The products on which India has offered tariff concessions relate to meat and
fish products (84 tariff lines), rock salt (1 tariff line), iodine (1 tariff
line), copper ore and concentrates (1 tariff line), chemicals (13 tariff lines),
leather products (7 tariff lines), newsprint and paper (6 tariff lines), wood
and plywood articles (42 tariff lines), some industrial products (12 tariff
lines), shorn wool & noils of wool (3 tariff lines) and some others (7 tariff
lines).
- Chile’s offer covers some agriculture products (7 tariff lines), chemicals
and pharmaceuticals (53 tariff lines), dyes and resins (7 tariff lines),
plastic, rubber and miscellaneous chemicals (14 tariff lines) leather products
(12 tariff lines), textiles and clothing (106 tariff lines), footwear (10 tariff
lines), some industrial products (82 tariff lines) and some other products (5
tariff lines).
- The Agreement was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on February 23,
2006, and consequently the PTA was signed on March 8, 2006. The Parliament of
Chile approved it in April 2007 and President of Chile signed the decree on
August 16, 2007 to ratify the PTA. The PTA came into force with effect from 17th
August, 2007 in Chile and in India on 11.09.2007. Implementation of India-Chile
PTA has been notified to WTO on 13th January, 2009.
- Expansion of the PTA - During the first meeting of Joint Administrative
Committee held in New Delhi in February, 2009 to review the implementation of
India-Chile Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), both sides agreed to initiate
the process of deepening and widening of the agreed lists of the existing India-
Chile PTA. First Meeting on negotiation on expansion of India-Chile PTA was held
in Santiago on 28-29 January, 2010 in which both sides exchanged their wish list
to each other. The 2nd meeting on expansion of India-Chile PTA was held in
August, 2010. In the said meeting, both sides discussed the further modalities
of the expansion of the PTA including exchange of initial offer lists in the
matter.