The India-Peru Trade Agreement Special Round is expected to take place virtually on October 10th and 11th, 2023. Chief Negotiator Mr. Vipul Bansal, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, will lead the Indian track, and Mr. Gerardo Antonio Meza Grillo, Director for Asia, Oceania and Africa, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, will lead the Peruvian track.
During this special round, it is anticipated that discussions will be held on a number of chapters, including Initial Provisions and General Definitions, Rules of Origin, Trade in Goods, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Technical Barriers to Trade, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, General and Security Exceptions, Cooperation, and Legal and Institutional Issues/Dispute Settlement. Depending on the mutual convenience of the negotiators, discussions on the services, movement of natural persons, trade remedies, and investment chapters will take place later this month.
The India-Peru Trade Agreement was first negotiated in 2017, and the fifth round was finished in August 2019. Because of Covid, the negotiations were put on hold.
A delegation from Peru led by H.E. Dr. Teresa Mera Gomez, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, met with Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, on the sidelines of the CII India-LAC Conclave, which was held in New Delhi on the 3rd and 4th of August 2023. Both parties expressed interest in continuing the trade negotiations. Minister Goyal then gave the order to restart the negotiations with Peru.
The Agreement is expected to considerably increase trade, investment, and cooperation in a number of sectors. The sixth round is scheduled to take place in Lima, Peru, in December 2023.
The trade relationship between India and Peru has been steadily expanding. The volume of bilateral trade in FY 2022–2023 was $3.12 billion. India imported commodities worth $ 2.25 billion from Peru while exporting items worth $ 865.91 million to Peru. In contrast to Peru, which predominantly exports gold and copper ores and concentrates, important Indian exports to that country include automobiles, cotton yarn, and pharmaceuticals.