A successful trade agreement with India would allow Canadian farmers to further exploit the economic opportunities of the growing nation and allow Indian consumers to benefit from quality, lower-cost Canadian exports. There is currently a food tariff policy and non-tariff barriers in India that limit trade and growth for Canadian agri-food producers. For example, India currently applies a 30 per cent tariff to all Canadian lentil exports. According to experts, the removal of tariffs on lentil products alone could potentially lead to a 147 per cent increase in exports over five years. While exports to India have increased over the past 10 years, exports to India account for less than 1% of Canada`s trade. In addition, the Indian population remains highly price sensitive. As a result, trade volumes with India fluctuate considerably each year. Implementation and ratification of the India-Canada Trade Agreement has the potential to increase GDP by $6 billion and generate exports of up to 47 per cent (according to DFATD). Although China already has a number of bilateral trade agreements, this is the first time it has signed a regional multilateral trade pact. On June 22, 2020, a virtual bilateral meeting was held between the chief negotiators of both sides. Subsequently, a bilateral meeting was held on 27 October 2020 to discuss the possibility of an early harvest agreement/intermediate agreement. In this regard, the scoping document was shared with the Canadian side, and a DVC was organized on November 19, 2020 and both parties are committed to moving it forward. If you have any questions or comments on this free trade agreement, we would like to hear from you.
Please contact Global Affairs Canada at: The RCEP is not as comprehensive and does not reduce rates as low as the successor to the TPP. But many analysts think that RCEp is only the size makes it more important. Canada and India have concluded their ninth round of negotiations under a comprehensive free trade agreement between Canada and India. Negotiations have focused on a wide range of issues related to goods and services and, since they were completed, both sides have committed to moving the discussions forward towards a final agreement. “The economic benefits of the agreement may be marginal for Southeast Asia, but there are some interesting trade and customs dynamics for Southeast Asia,” said Nick Marro of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Many Member States have already concluded free trade agreements, but there are restrictions. In the longer term, Li called the agreement a “victory for multilateralism and free trade.” In September 2008, the Ceo Round Table India-Canada recommended that India and Canada benefit greatly from the EPA by removing tariffs on a significant portion of bilateral trade. The EPA would cover trade in goods, trade in services, rules of origin, health and plant health measures, technical barriers to trade and other areas of economic cooperation. A joint study was conducted and, in September 2010, the benefits of the EPA for both countries were highly recommended.