India And Mexico Open Talks On A Preferential Trade Agreement

India and Mexico have formally begun negotiating a preferential trade agreement, signing terms of reference that set out the scope, method and timetable of the talks.

Image Via: PIB India

A preferential agreement is narrower than a full free trade deal, cutting tariffs on selected goods rather than opening markets across the board. The terms agreed cover market access for goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, trade facilitation, dispute settlement, sanitary and plant health rules, technical barriers to trade and trade remedies.

The negotiations follow an understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Claudia Sheinbaum when they met on the margins of the G7 summit in Canada in June 2025. The terms were signed during a visit by India’s commerce secretary, who held talks with Mexico’s undersecretary for foreign trade, standing in for the economy secretary.

Both sides identified automotive components, chemicals, electronics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and food, energy, critical minerals, medical devices and advanced manufacturing as sectors with room to grow. India’s commerce ministry described Mexico, with its close integration into North American supply chains, as a significant market for Indian exporters and a route into the wider region.

The two sides also discussed sending a Mexican business delegation to India in the first three months of 2027 to arrange meetings between companies.

No timetable was given for concluding the agreement, and no figure was published for current trade between the two countries.