October 17, 2025

New Delhi got buzzing on October 16, 2025, when Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin met India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. What’s cooking? A big plan to turbocharge trade between India and the Mercosur bloc—that’s Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay! Both leaders agreed to widen the existing Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which started way back in 2009 and covers 450 tariff lines. Now, they want to transform it into a powerful, full-scale pact. The key move? Setting up a technical dialogue and holding a Joint Administration Committee meeting soon to define exactly how this trade deal will grow. They agreed: “parties should endeavour to conclude the negotiations within one year from the launch of negotiations,” says the Commerce Ministry. The aim is clear: more products should get tariff breaks, and the deal should also cover tricky non-tariff barriers and economic partnership issues. Both sides want private players and other stakeholders to jump in and fuel these talks. Brazil’s side promised tight teamwork with its Mercosur partners to make this happen quickly and fairly. In 2024-25, India and Brazil traded goods worth $12.19 billion. The new target is eye-popping—$20 billion in five years! Mr. Goyal told reporters that expanding the PTA will help India dive deeper into South America’s markets. Mr. Alckmin confidently said, “We are ready to launch a digital partnership towards artificial intelligence high performance computing.” Plus, the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement will build a safer, more predictable business space. So, India and Brazil are not just planning to trade more—they’re teaming up on tech and trust. With such fiery plans and high hopes, this partnership is set to add sizzle to the India-South America economic plate.

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Tags: India-brazil trade, Mercosur, Preferential trade agreement, Piyush goyal, Geraldo alckmin, Bilateral trade,