India, Canada exploring partial trade deal

New Delhi: India and Canada are pursuing a mini trade deal which would cover both goods and services, a joint statement issued on Wednesday said. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal met his Canadian counterpart, Mary Ng, in Ottawa on Monday, along with business leaders.

“..negotiations towards an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA), as a transitional step towards the CEPA, have been underway and several rounds of discussions have already taken place,” according to a joint statement issued by the ministry of commerce.

With that goal in mind, the ministers called for boosting commercial ties between the nations through enhanced cooperation and by forging partnerships to take advantage of complementarities in sectors such as agricultural goods, chemicals, green technologies, infrastructure, automotive, clean energy, electronics, and minerals and metals, as per the statement.

New Delhi and Ottawa relaunched trade negotiations in March last year after a gap of nearly 10 years.

While India is looking for duty-free access for its textile and apparel products along with easier norms for the movement of Indian professionals and easing of technical and sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to trade, Canada is hoping for larger market access for its wine, dairy and agricultural products.

Mint had reported that a proposed investment protection agreement was a contentious issue the last time both countries sat across the negotiating table.

Canada-India bilateral trade in goods totalled nearly C$12 billion in 2022, an increase 57% over the previous year.

Trade ministers from India and Canada also discussed global supply chains that “remain under the threat of disruption from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic”, as well as the effects of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In this context, they discussed the continued importance of working together to promote the international rules-based order and supply chain resiliency in critical sectors. They emphasised enhancing cooperation in sectors such as clean technologies for infrastructure development, critical minerals, electric vehicles and batteries, renewable energy/hydrogen, and AI.

Recognising the importance of critical minerals for future and green economy, the ministers agreed on the importance of government-to-government coordination to promote critical mineral supply chain resiliency.

Both the sides have agreed to explore options for business-to-business engagement on critical minerals, and have committed to an annual dialogue between appropriate points of contact at the officials level on the margins of the Prospectors and Developers Association Conference in Toronto to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The ministers discussed the potential for strengthening cooperation in the field of science, technology and innovation in priority areas by building on the ongoing work in the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee (JSTCC) and seeking enhanced collaboration in the areas of start-ups and innovation partnerships.

They agreed that there was significant potential to strengthen such cooperation and to enhance collaboration between their research and business communities in support of a sustainable economic recovery and the prosperity and wellbeing of their citizens.

In line with the announcement made in the National Education Policy 2020 of India for facilitating foreign universities and educational institutions, India also invited top Canadian Universities to set up their campuses in India.

“The ministers noted that India and Canada have agreed to an expanded air services agreement in 2022 which enhances people to people ties through enhanced commercial flights by carriers of both the countries,” the ministry said.

Minister Ng is scheduled to visit India in October with a trade delegation.