India and Chile near CEPA to improve India's mineral access
India and Chile are close to signing a major trade agreement (CEPA) that would give India better access to key minerals like copper and lithium, super important for things like electric cars and clean energy technology.
After four rounds of talks since last year, India's commerce secretary Rajesh Agrawal is expected to travel to Chile this month.
India Chile trade up nearly 74%
Trade has been on fire: in just one year, business between India and Chile jumped nearly 74% to $2.06 billion.
Most of that growth came from mineral imports more broadly, with bulk minerals and ores rising to $882.8 million and copper and copper products rising from about $1.1 million to $374.9 million.
Meanwhile, Indian exports like cars, medicines, and engineering goods also saw solid gains.
This new deal could make India's supply chains stronger, especially as the world scrambles for critical resources.