Corporate Canada has welcomed the announcement that India and Canada will formally relaunch negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
While also agreeing to consider an interim pact, the Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA). While the EPTA will serve as a transitional step towards the CEPA, the two countries also agreed to intensify negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty.
The announcements came as Canada’s minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development Marg Ng met India’s commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Friday.
This is the first visit by a Canadian minister to India since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the country in February 2018.
In a statement, the Business Council of Canada welcomed these announcements, saying, “Simply put, there is no path to a successful Indo-Pacific strategy without going through India – projected to soon become the world’s most populous country with one of the fastest growing economies.”
In an “increasingly volatile world”, Canadian businesses were looking toward India for “opportunities to trade, invest and grow,” the Council’s CEO Goldy Hyder said in the statement.
“Many of Canada’s competitors are moving quickly to enhance trade ties, including in the near term, to ensure their businesses have a clear advantage in this critical market. With today’s announcement, Canada is well-positioned to be one of the first advanced economies to secure an agreement with India,” he said.
These views were also reflected in a statement issued by the Canada-India Business Council. It said the Council “was encouraged” to witness such progress, and added that it is “committed to promoting trade between Canada and India, and we are very happy to see Minister Ng prioritizing India and our bi-national relationship.”
The Council president & CEO Victor Thomas said that he had “encouraging discussions” with Ng and Goyal over the “unique opportunity in India’s ever-growing potential – the booming economy and business development opportunities are unparalleled and pivotal for Canada’s future”.
After a delay of nearly four years, negotiators from the two countries resumed discussions about the CEPA in June last year. Talks, in fact, had commenced over a decade earlier, between then PM Dr Manmohan Singh and his then counterpart Stephen Harper.