India, Canada conclude third round of talks on proposed trade pact
India and Canada concluded the third round of negotiations for a proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), held in Ottawa.
Discussions covered trade in goods, trade in services, and intellectual property rights, alongside cooperation in critical minerals, clean technology, agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
Both countries reaffirmed the target of concluding the agreement within 2026, after which legal vetting and domestic ratification would follow before entry into force.
The talks form part of a broader push to raise bilateral trade to about USD 50 billion by 2030, from current two-way merchandise trade levels of roughly USD 13-14 billion.
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) vs Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
A CEPA is a deeper, broader trade instrument than a conventional FTA. While an FTA principally addresses tariff elimination on goods, a CEPA additionally covers trade in services, investment facilitation, intellectual property rights, technical barriers to trade, and regulatory cooperation — structured as parallel negotiating "tracks" running simultaneously.
Key Details
- India's CEPAs to date: India-UAE CEPA (signed 18 February 2022, in force 1 May 2022) and India-Australia agreements have followed this multi-track template.
- Both countries' negotiating texts for goods, services and IP are negotiated as separate chapters, which are then consolidated into a single legal agreement before signature.
- Legally, a CEPA still relies on GATT Article XXIV (goods) and GATS Article V (services) as the WTO-compatible basis for preferential treatment among the parties, departing from the Most-Favoured-Nation obligation owed to other WTO members.
The third round's parallel coverage of goods, services and IP reflects this standard CEPA track structure, distinguishing the India-Canada talks from a narrower goods-only FTA negotiation.
Negotiation History: From EPTA to Full CEPA (2010-2026)
India-Canada trade talks were first launched around 2010 but stalled by 2017 over market-access disagreements. A more limited "Early Progress Trade Agreement" (EPTA) — a stepping-stone deal covering only a subset of issues — was explored around 2022 as a pragmatic alternative to a full CEPA, but those talks too were paused in August 2023 amid a diplomatic rupture between the two countries. Negotiations for a full CEPA were formally relaunched only in early 2026, following an official visit by the Canadian Prime Minister to India.
Key Details
- Talks paused: August 2023, following a deterioration in bilateral diplomatic relations.
- Talks relaunched: March 2026, at Hyderabad House, during an official visit by Canada's Prime Minister to India.
- Second round of CEPA negotiations was held in New Delhi; the third round (this news item) was held in Ottawa.
- Target: conclusion of the agreement within calendar year 2026.
The Ottawa round is a concrete milestone in this restarted process, signalling that the earlier diplomatic freeze has not derailed the economic negotiating track.
Critical Minerals Cooperation
Critical minerals — inputs essential to clean energy and electronics manufacturing but subject to supply concentration risk — have become a specific negotiating chapter alongside the CEPA talks, reflecting India's clean-energy and electric-vehicle manufacturing goals.
Key Details
- Canada holds substantial reserves of lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper — inputs for EV batteries and clean-energy infrastructure.
- India and Canada have a government-to-government Memorandum of Understanding on Critical Minerals Cooperation between their respective mines/natural resources departments.
- India's own Critical Minerals Mission and the National Critical Mineral Mission list (covering minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements) provide the domestic policy counterpart to such external sourcing partnerships.
Critical minerals cooperation discussed in the CEPA round is aimed at securing long-term Canadian supply for India's battery and clean-technology manufacturing base, independent of the tariff-focused goods chapter.
- Third round of India-Canada CEPA talks: held in Ottawa, concluded July 2026.
- Trade target: USD 50 billion bilateral trade by 2030.
- Current two-way merchandise trade: approximately USD 13-14 billion (2025 figures).
- Negotiations paused: August 2023; relaunched: March 2026.
- India's top exports to Canada: pharmaceuticals, machinery, precious stones, iron and steel articles, organic chemicals.
- Canada's top exports to India: mineral fuels/oils, vegetables (pulses), wood pulp, fertilisers.