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India, MERCOSUR to expand preferential trade agreement signed in 2009
India and MERCOSUR are finalising the terms of reference (ToR) that will define the scope and structure of the expanded agreement, it added.
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Commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Uruguay’s foreign affairs minister Mario Lubetkin on Monday announced the launch of negotiations to expand the preferential trade agreement (PTA) between India and the South American trade bloc MERCOSUR.
“Both sides agreed to expand the current agreement to cover areas of mutual interest, with a view to further deepening their economic relations, as well as creating greater benefits and opportunities for their respective private sectors,” a commerce and industry ministry statement said.
India and MERCOSUR are finalising the terms of reference (ToR) that will define the scope and structure of the expanded agreement, it added.
The Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR, for its Spanish initials) is a regional bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Bolivia. Venezuela was, however, suspended from the group in 2016.
India has had a PTA with MERCOSUR since June 2009, but its scope remains limited. The agreement currently covers around 450 tariff lines from India and 452 from MERCOSUR, with tariff concessions ranging between 10% and 100%, experts said.
India and MERCOSUR also signed their first additional protocol to facilitate the acceptance of electronic certificates of origin, marking an important step towards paperless trade and modernising customs procedures between India and the MERCOSUR countries, the commerce ministry said in a separate statement on Monday.
The protocol was signed by commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal, ambassador of Uruguay to India Alberto Guani and ambassador of Paraguay to India Fleming Raul Duarte Ramos, in the presence of Lubetkin, who is attending in his capacity as the representative of MERCOSUR’s Pro Tempore Presidency, and representatives of the embassies of Argentina and Brazil, it said.
Experts said the existing PTA has enhanced bilateral trade since 2009, but its coverage remains limited, particularly because it excludes services. The balance of trade is also often tilted against India. Expanding the agreement could unlock greater potential and help achieve more balanced and mutually beneficial trade, they said.
Both sides want to upgrade the current PTA into a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) covering goods, services and investments, which would significantly enhance market access, reduce trade barriers and provide a major boost to India’s export diversification strategy, they said.
Indian exporters face multiple challenges in the MERCOSUR market, including high tariff barriers, logistical inefficiencies, regulatory complexities and cultural differences, experts said, urging both sides to institutionalise and sustain trade relations.
According to official data, during 2024-25, total trade between India and the MERCOSUR countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay amounted to $17.48 billion, comprising $8.12 billion in exports and $9.36 billion in imports. In 2025-26 (April-October), total bilateral trade stood at $11.84 billion, with exports of $5.22 billion and imports of $6.62 billion.
