India, Canada begin next round of FTA talks

New Delhi: India and Canada on Monday started second round of negotiations for a free trade agreement aimed at boosting two-way commerce and investments, an official said.

The pact is officially known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and negotiations will cover trade in goods, services, and other mutually agreed policy areas.

"The five-day talks started on May 4 here," the official said. The first round was held in March.

This round is important as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Canada by end of this month to give an impetus to the negotiations.

The negotiations mark the resumption of talks, as the two countries had earlier engaged in a similar exercise, but Canada paused it in 2023. Now, they decided to resume talks from the beginning as a lot has changed on the global trade front during these two years.

The negotiations are important as the two sides have fixed a target to increase the bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030. It stood at USD 8.66 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4.22 billion exports and USD 4.44 billion imports).

Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and a GDP of USD 2.34 trillion at purchasing power parity.

Key exports from India to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals, among others. Key imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertiliser, paper and petroleum crude.

India's main services sector exports include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services.

Canada is also home to over 425,000 Indian students and a strong Indian community.

Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Brij Mohan Mishra, is the chief negotiator from the Indian side. Bruce Christie is Canada's chief negotiator.