India, Canada to hold next round of talks from Oct 5 for proposed trade pact: Goyal
The next round of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Canada is scheduled to begin October 5, following the conclusion of the fourth round on September 18.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry described the following 90 days as a defining period for bilateral economic relations, with both sides targeting a substantive conclusion to negotiations by year-end.
Two-way trade between India and Canada stood at $30.4 billion in 2025, with an official target to nearly double this to $70 billion by 2030.
Key Indian exports to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronics, and chemicals, while India's key imports from Canada include pulses, coal, fertilizers, and crude petroleum.
Services trade — particularly telecommunications, computer services, and business services — was highlighted as a growing component of the bilateral relationship.
CEPA Negotiation Structure and the "Early Progress Trade Agreement" Precedent
A CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) covers trade in goods, services, investment, and often regulatory cooperation, in contrast to a narrower FTA (goods-focused) or PTA (limited tariff-line concessions). India and Canada previously attempted an "Early Progress Trade Agreement" (EPTA) — an interim, limited-scope deal — before talks were paused in 2023 amid a diplomatic rift; negotiations resumed and were reframed around a full CEPA once relations normalised.
Key Details
- India-Canada trade talks were suspended in September 2023 following a diplomatic dispute; formal CEPA negotiations resumed after ties were normalised, with the fourth round completing September 18, 2026, and the fifth scheduled from October 5, 2026.
- India has used interim/early-harvest agreements before full CEPAs elsewhere — e.g., the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA, in force December 2022) served as an interim step ahead of a fuller Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) still under negotiation.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry, led by the Commerce Secretary-level negotiating team, conducts round-based negotiations, each round covering specific chapters (goods, services, investment, rules of origin, dispute settlement).
- A CEPA typically requires Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approval before signature and Parliamentary notification, though under Indian practice treaty-making itself falls under Article 253 read with the Union's executive power (Article 73), and Parliament's role is mainly through ratification of any domestic legislative changes needed.
The scheduling of a fifth round with an explicit 90-day "defining period" signals negotiators are compressing what would normally be a multi-year CEPA process, similar to the accelerated India-Australia ECTA timeline in 2022.
India-Canada Trade Profile and Complementarities
Bilateral trade complementarity is a standard economics lens for assessing FTA/CEPA gains — evaluating whether two economies' export baskets and import needs are structurally complementary (reducing net welfare loss from trade diversion) rather than competitive.
Key Details
- India's key exports to Canada (pharmaceuticals, iron/steel, seafood, garments, electronics, chemicals) are largely manufacturing and pharma-led, playing to India's generic drug and light manufacturing strengths.
- India's key imports from Canada (pulses, coal, fertilizers, crude petroleum, potash) reflect Canada's role as a major potash and pulses supplier — critical for India's fertilizer security and protein self-sufficiency (India is the world's largest importer of pulses).
- Canada is one of the world's largest potash producers; potash is a key input for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers under India's Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme.
- Services trade complementarity: India's IT/BPM strength (telecom, computer, business services exports) aligns with Canada's services-heavy economy.
The trade profile named in the current talks — pulses and potash imports paired with pharma and manufacturing exports — indicates the CEPA's likely priority chapters: agriculture/fertilizer inputs, pharmaceuticals market access, and services mobility.
India's Post-2022 CEPA Wave — Placing Canada in Context
Since 2022, India has concluded or advanced several CEPAs/FTAs as part of a broader post-RCEP strategy of bilateral trade deepening with resource-rich or services-complementary economies.
Key Details
- India-UAE CEPA: in force May 1, 2022 — India's first CEPA of this recent wave.
- India-Australia ECTA: in force December 29, 2022, with a fuller CECA still being negotiated.
- India-EFTA TEPA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein): in force October 2025, featuring a linked $100 billion investment commitment.
- India-New Zealand FTA: signed April 27, 2026; enters into force October 20, 2026.
- India-Canada CEPA (under negotiation): targeting conclusion by end of 2026, with a trade target of $70 billion by 2030 (from $30.4 billion in 2025).
The India-Canada CEPA, if concluded, would be the latest in a cluster of Indian trade agreements with G7/OECD or resource-rich economies signed or advanced since 2022, reinforcing the pattern of India prioritising deep bilateral deals over multilateral blocs like RCEP.
- India-Canada two-way trade (2025): $30.4 billion; target by 2030: $70 billion
- Fourth round of CEPA talks concluded: September 18, 2026; fifth round begins: October 5, 2026
- India-Canada trade talks were suspended in September 2023 amid a diplomatic rift; formally resumed thereafter
- India-UAE CEPA in force since May 1, 2022; India-Australia ECTA in force since December 29, 2022; India-EFTA TEPA in force since October 2025; India-New Zealand FTA enters into force October 20, 2026
- Key Indian imports from Canada: pulses, potash, coal, fertilizers, crude petroleum
- Key Indian exports to Canada: pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronics, chemicals