India, Canada to hold next round of talks from October 5 for proposed trade pact: Piyush Goyal
The fourth round of India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations concluded on September 18, 2026; the fifth round is scheduled to begin October 5, 2026.
The Commerce Ministry stated both sides have agreed to fast-track talks, describing the following 90 days as a defining period for the bilateral relationship, with both countries targeting conclusion of the pact by the end of 2026.
Canada's International Trade Minister visited Mumbai for discussions ahead of the announcement.
The Commerce Ministry separately indicated the India-EU trade agreement is expected to be ratified by the European Parliament within roughly three months and enter into force within six to seven months, while talks on an India-Chile trade agreement are also progressing.
Two-way India-Canada trade reached about $30.4 billion in 2025, with a target to double it to $70 billion by 2030.
CEPA vs FTA — Scope of Trade Agreement Types
A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a broader instrument than a standard Free Trade Agreement (FTA): while an FTA typically focuses on eliminating tariffs on goods, a CEPA additionally covers trade in services, investment, intellectual property, government procurement, and often regulatory cooperation and mobility of professionals. India has used the CEPA format for several recent negotiations (e.g., India-UAE CEPA, 2022) reflecting a preference for comprehensive rather than goods-only pacts with significant trading partners.
Key Details
- India's CEPA/ECTA negotiating template typically includes chapters on trade in goods, rules of origin, trade remedies, services, investment, and sometimes mobility/visa provisions.
- Comparable recent India CEPAs: India-UAE CEPA (in force May 2022); the ongoing India-Australia relationship has both an interim ECTA (2022) and a fuller CECA under negotiation.
- The India-Canada track was formally relaunched in 2022 after over a decade of intermittent discussion, going through nine rounds between 2022 and 2023 before talks were paused in August 2023 amid a period of strain in the bilateral relationship; negotiations resumed in 2025-26 after diplomatic engagement was restored, with fresh Terms of Reference signed in March 2026.
The fifth round (from October 5, 2026) is part of the revived post-2025 negotiation track, distinct from the original 2022-23 rounds — a useful distinction for tracking the CEPA's negotiating history as a potential Mains "trade diplomacy" answer point.
WTO Compatibility of Bilateral/Regional Trade Pacts
Bilateral trade pacts like India-Canada CEPA depart from the WTO's Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle — the norm that any trade advantage given to one WTO member must be extended to all members. This departure is permitted under GATT Article XXIV, which allows FTAs and customs unions provided they liberalise "substantially all trade" between the parties and do not raise external barriers against non-members beyond pre-agreement levels.
Key Details
- MFN is one of the foundational WTO principles (alongside National Treatment) under GATT Article I.
- GATT Article XXIV is the legal carve-out enabling regional/bilateral trade agreements; the separate "Enabling Clause" (1979) permits preferential arrangements specifically among developing countries.
- India negotiates such pacts bilaterally (rather than only through multilateral WTO rounds) partly because the WTO's Doha Round has been largely stalled since the 2000s, pushing major economies toward bilateral/regional deals.
The India-Canada CEPA, like India's other bilateral FTAs/CEPAs, is a WTO-consistent MFN exception — a standard "trade agreement architecture" bridge applicable across India's expanding FTA portfolio (UAE, Australia, EU, Canada, Chile all under discussion or recently concluded).
India's Expanding FTA Negotiation Pipeline
India is simultaneously advancing several major trade negotiations, reflecting a broader post-2020 pivot toward bilateral and plurilateral trade deals after opting out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019.
Key Details
- India-EU FTA: under negotiation since 2007 (relaunched 2022); as of September 2026, the Commerce Ministry indicated ratification by the European Parliament was expected within about three months, with entry into force projected six to seven months out.
- India-Chile: trade agreement talks ongoing, with India's Commerce Secretary having visited Chile to review progress.
- India-New Zealand FTA (signed April 2026) enters into force October 20, 2026 — cited as a recent template for concluding negotiations relatively quickly (around nine months).
The India-Canada CEPA talks sit within this wider pipeline of Indian trade negotiations, useful for a comparative Mains answer on India's trade diplomacy strategy post-RCEP exit.
- Fourth round of India-Canada CEPA talks concluded: September 18, 2026.
- Fifth round of talks scheduled: from October 5, 2026.
- Target for concluding the pact: end of 2026.
- India-Canada two-way trade (2025): about $30.4 billion; target: $70 billion by 2030.
- India's major exports to Canada: pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods, chemicals.
- India's major imports from Canada: pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertilisers, paper, crude petroleum.
- CEPA negotiations originally relaunched: March 2022; paused: August 2023; fresh Terms of Reference signed: March 2, 2026.
- India-EU FTA: European Parliament ratification expected within about 3 months (as of September 2026); entry into force projected 6-7 months out.