India and Canada Push to Finish Their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
India's Minister of Commerce and Industry held talks in New Delhi on November 11, 2026 with Canada's Minister of International Trade, who is leading a Canadian trade delegation.
The two sides discussed how to move forward the negotiations on the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a broad trade deal covering goods, services and investment.
Both sides said the deal should be "balanced and mutually beneficial". It should give meaningful market access (easier entry for each other's goods and services) and build on the strengths of the two economies, which complement each other.
The meeting came as the sixth round of CEPA negotiations was due in New Delhi. The fifth round was held in Ottawa from October 5 to 9, 2026.
Both governments have set a goal of concluding the negotiations by the end of 2026. This target was first fixed in a joint statement on March 2, 2026, when the CEPA Terms of Reference (the agreed scope of the talks) were also signed.
Free Trade Agreements: Concept and WTO Framework
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is a deal between two or more countries to remove or sharply cut import taxes (tariffs) on most of the goods they trade with each other. Each country keeps its own tariffs for countries outside the deal. India gives its deals different names, such as CEPA, CECA, ECTA or TEPA, but all of them are types of FTAs. A Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a wide FTA that covers not just goods but also services, investment, rules on standards, and sometimes the movement of professionals.
The India-Canada CEPA would be a full, comprehensive FTA. The stress on "meaningful market access" and a "balanced" deal shows the usual give-and-take: each side wants tariff cuts on its own exports while protecting its sensitive sectors. For India, this usually means protecting dairy and some farm products; for Canada, it often means opening markets for pulses, energy and minerals.
India-Canada Relations: History, Rupture and Reset
India and Canada are both democracies, members of the Commonwealth and the G20, and are connected through a large Indian diaspora in Canada. Their relationship has seen long periods of friendship and some sharp breakdowns, most recently in 2023 and 2024. Since 2025, both sides have worked to rebuild ties, and trade has been at the centre of this reset.
The minister-level meeting shows that trade is now the main engine of the India-Canada reset. Finishing CEPA by the end of 2026 would give the improved political ties a firm economic base. It would also help both countries diversify their trade at a time of global tariff uncertainty.
- Agreement under negotiation: India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
- CEPA talks first launched: 2010; relaunched: March 2022 (EPTA); paused: September 2023; relaunch announced: November 2025 (G20, Johannesburg); Terms of Reference signed: March 2026
- Fifth round: Ottawa, 5 to 9 October 2026; sixth round: New Delhi, November 2026
- Target to conclude talks: end of 2026
- Bilateral trade target: about US$50 billion by 2030
- WTO basis for FTAs: GATT Article XXIV (goods) and GATS Article V (services)
- India's recent FTAs: UAE CEPA (2022), Australia ECTA (2022), EFTA TEPA (in force 2025), UK CETA (signed 2025)