India, Canada conclude third round of talks on proposed trade pact

New Delhi: India and Canada concluded the third round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Ottawa on July 10, as the two sides look to wind up the talks this year itself.

The issues that figured in the five-day talks include trade in goods, services, intellectual property, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and technical barriers to trade, among others.

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"India and Canada concluded the 3rd Round of negotiations for the India-Canada CEPA in Ottawa from 6-10 July 2026. The discussions witnessed positive progress across multiple negotiating tracks, reaffirming the shared commitment of both countries to conclude the negotiations in 2026, in line with the vision of the leaders," the Department of Commerce said in a social media post.

The negotiations are important as the two sides have targeted to increase the bilateral trade to USD 50 billion by 2030.

In 2025-26, the two-way trade dipped 8.22 per cent to USD 7.95 billion (USD 4.67 billion exports and USD 3.28 billion imports) from USD 8.66 billion in 2024-25 (USD 4.22 billion exports and USD 4.44 billion imports).

Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and a GDP of USD 2.34 trillion at purchasing power parity.

Key exports from India to Canada include pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, seafood, cotton garments, electronic goods and chemicals, among others. The main imports include pulses, pearls and semi-precious stones, coal, fertiliser, paper and petroleum crude.

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India's main services sector exports include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services.

Canada is also home to over 4,25,000 Indian students and a strong Indian community. Joint Secretary in the Department of Commerce, Brij Mohan Mishra, is the chief negotiator from the Indian side. Bruce Christie is Canada's chief negotiator.