India and Chile are finalizing negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aiming to conclude the pact by the end of the year to secure critical mineral supply chains, particularly copper. Ambassador Juan Angulo emphasized that bilateral trade has expanded to $5.6 billion, with the new FTA expected to cover services, investments, and mobility beyond the existing preferential trade arrangement. In international trade safety, the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), flagged multiple Chinese food shipments, including rice noodles, crackers, and Miso paste, for containing unauthorized genetically modified organisms (GMOs) like the Cry1AB/AC gene. These alerts stand in stark contrast to China’s recent rejection of Indian rice shipments over unverified GMO claims, despite India having only one recorded alert in the EU framework. Simultaneously, the Indian government has announced landmark environmental reforms for port infrastructure, extending the initial validity period of environmental clearances for ports, harbours, breakwaters, and dredging from 10 years to 20 years. Notified under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, the rule includes provisions for two additional five-year extensions. This policy update is designed to ease execution delays, reduce regulatory uncertainties for long-gestation maritime projects, and support India’s goal of reaching 10,000 MMFTA port capacity by 2047.