Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal signalled on Wednesday that the finalisation of an Early Progress Trade Agreement or EPTA with Canada may be possible this year.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal signaled on Wednesday that the finalisation of an Early Progress Trade Agreement or EPTA with Canada may be possible this year.
During the course of a media interaction in Toronto, Goyal, who is on a bilateral visit to Canada, said that getting the deal done in 2023 is “not beyond the realm of possibility.”
“I’m usually very optimistic, I do wish it’s much faster than that,” he added. “We’re working to ensure early conclusion to the Early Progress Trade Agreement which we believe will send a strong signal to business on both sides, in terms of our desire of leaders of both Governments to expand business and investment partnerships,” he stressed.
He said that his discussions with his Canadian counterpart, International Trade Minister Mary Ng “even though informal, were quite substantive and have moved the needle on a fast-track basis.”
Goyal also said “speed” was of the essence, but didn’t want to set a deadline for the concluding the pact, as it “pays to be pragmatic and practical and careful.”
He did say that discussions had gone on “longer than I like a FTA (free trade agreement) negotiation to take place. They’ve had seven rounds already.”
“We’ve both agreed sensitivities on both sides will be respected and recognized,” he said, noting that was what clinched the agreements with Australia and the United Arab Emirates. In fact, the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement which came into force in December is useful as it “generates confidence” and gives Ottawa “a template to look at” given the similarities between Canada and Australia.
Ng was also optimistic, as she tweeted, “Our trade agreements open the doors for businesses to walk through.” Both Ministers were present at a reception organised in Toronto by the Canada-India Business Council. She announced she will lead a trade mission from Canada to India in October or November this year but the Ministers will meet in Jaipur before that when she attends the G20 trade vertical there in August.
A release from her office said “the ministers made progress on key trade initiatives such as ongoing talks toward an Early Progress Trade Agreement.”.
“They reaffirmed that EPTA would cover shared areas of importance such as high-level commitments in goods, investment, service, a focus on rules-based international order, technical barriers to trade and dispute settlement,” it added.
It also said they shared a commitment towards enhancing cooperation in key sectors like critical minerals, clean tech, renewable energy and AI. They discussed continuing to work together in coordinating investment promotion, information exchange and mutual support between Canada and India through a Memorandum of Understanding later this year.
The ministers discussed continuing to work together in coordinating investment promotion, information exchange and mutual support between Canada and India through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) later this year.
Goyal also said the Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment or MDTI delivered several outcomes, which include a relaunch of the CEO Forum, “in a fashion that’s more outcome-oriented, more aggressive”. Both countries are looking at an agreement between their investment promotion bodies “to act as an interface, to handhold and support businesses and investments.” A dialogue on a critical minerals partnership is being considered along with strengthening a talent and innovation partnership.
Goyal said while the history of the India-Canada economic relationship was one of “lost opportunities”, he and Ng were attempting to “script the future different from the past” and “create the necessary eco-system and ingredients for a robust and resilient partnership.”
“Two rules-based transparent democratic economies with a strong complementarity between them are poised for a rapid growth in the years to come,” he emphasised.
He said he had an “outstanding visit” to Canada and will return to New Delhi “very excited about the Canada-India partnership.”
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