It was a Framework Agreement was signed between India and MERCOSUR on 17th June 2003.
The Agreement outlined the conditions and mechanisms for negotiations by granting reciprocal tariff preferences in first stage and in the second stage, to negotiate a free trade area between the two parties in conformity with the rules of the WTO.
A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was signed in New Delhi on January 25, 2004 following the agreement aimed at expansion and strengthening the existing relations between MERCOSUR and India and promotion of trade by granting reciprocal fixed tariff preferences with the ultimate objective of creating a free trade area between the parties.
It is the fourth largest integrated market after the European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and ASEAN.
