Canada pauses negotiations on trade agreement with India: Official

New Delhi: Canada has paused negotiations for a free trade agreement with India and now both the countries will mutually decide about resuming the talks in the future, an official said. "The Canadian side conveyed that they were taking a pause in India-Canada negotiations on the Early Progress Trade Agreement. This will enable us both to take stock of progress and next steps. We will decide by mutual agreement when negotiations will resume," the official told PTI.

Over half a dozen rounds of talks have been held between the countries on the trade pact so far. In March last year, the two countries re-launched negotiations for an interim agreement, officially dubbed as Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA). In such agreements, two countries significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them.

They also liberalise norms for promoting trade in services and attract investments. Indian industry was looking at duty-free access for products like textiles and leather besides easy visa norms for the movement of professionals. Canada has interests in areas like dairy and agricultural products. The bilateral trade between the countries has increased to USD 8.16 billion in 2022-23 from USD 7 billion in 2021-22.