March 14, 2022
Mary Ng and Piyush Goyal agreed to relaunch the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations formally
The Trudeau government has emphasized that India is key to Canada’s Indo-Pacific outreach
Canada is prioritizing six sectors in India - agriculture, automotive, cleantech, infrastructure, information & communications technology, and life sciences
Canada and India’s current economic partnership is valued at about US$ 100 billion
India and Canada plan to reach an “early progress deal” as the first goal of trade negotiations as per Canadian trade minister Mary Ng. This is being looked at as a precursor to an FTA and will be used to liberalize tariffs on certain goods before a formal FTA is signed. Ng and her Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal agreed to relaunch the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations formally and acknowledged concerns about challenges to global supply chains, including disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Ng also stated that the Trudeau government has emphasized that India is key to Canada’s Indo-Pacific outreach as it is a major market in the Indo-Pacific region and an important part of Canada’s progressive trade agenda. Canada is prioritizing six sectors in India, namely agriculture, automotive, cleantech, infrastructure, information & communications technology, and life sciences.
Canada’s current economic partnership with India is valued at about US$ 100 billion, with two-way trade at US$ 10.5 billion and services exceeding US$ 6.67 billion. The two-way foreign direct investment is valued at US$ 5 billion and portfolio investment is at US$ 65 billion from public sources.