India and Canada agreed to relaunch talks for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), while exploring the possibility of an interim deal or an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).
“Ministers agreed that EPTA shall include high-level commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed upon. Furthermore, Canada and India agreed to promote and protect bilateral investment, including through the intensification of negotiations toward a Bilateral Investment Agreement, while considering options to achieve this goal alongside CEPA,” the government said in a statement following discussions between commerce & industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Candian counterpart Mary Ng.
India is seeking to push trade agreements with several countries and recently clinched a deal with the UAE and one with Australia expected to be worked out in the coming weeks. Besides, discussions have started for a free trade agreement with the UK. Like several of these deals, talks for a trade pact with Canada had started nearly a decade ago but had been stalled for several years.
