Ottawa: Canada is set to launch negotiations for a potential free trade agreement (FTA) with India starting from next month, Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu said.
Confirming the announcement, India's Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that the two nations are engaged in finalizing the terms of reference (ToR) to formally start negotiations for an FTA.
India and Canada were earlier negotiating a trade pact but it was paused by Canada in 2023. Now they have decided to resume talks from the beginning as a lot has changed on the global trade front during these two years.
“The two sides are engaged in finalizing the ToR for a mutually beneficial trade agreement. We hope we will be able to complete this work soon," Agrawal said in the national capital. The ToR outlines the scope and modalities of a proposed trade pact.
Both sides have appointed their chief negotiators for the trade pact negotiations. 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, according to reports.
India's exports to Canada rose 9.8 per cent to $4.22 billion in 2024-25 from $3.84 billion in 2023-24. Imports, however, declined 2.33 per cent to $4.44 billion in the last fiscal year from $4.55 billion in 2023-24.
Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Canada stood at $18.38 billion in 2023. There are about 2.9 million Indian diaspora and over 4,27,000 Indian students in Canada.
