India, Canada conclude second round of CEPA talks

• India and Canada successfully concluded the second round of negotiations for the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), held from May 4 to 8 in New Delhi.

• The discussions were held in accordance with the Terms of Reference signed by the Trade Ministers of both countries on March 2.

• Detailed discussions were held across a wide range of chapters.

• The next round of negotiations will be held in Ottawa in July.

• The negotiations are important as the two sides have fixed a target to increase the bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. 

• It stood at $8.66 billion in 2024-25 ($4.22 billion exports and $4.44 billion imports). 

• Canada represents a market of 41.65 million people (2025) and a GDP of $2.34 trillion at purchasing power parity. 

• Major items of India’s exports to Canada include pharmaceutical products, machinery parts & mechanical appliances, iron & steel articles, electronic goods, organic chemicals, jewellery, gems & precious stones, clothing & textile articles, seafood, engineering goods and auto parts. 

• India’s major imports from Canada include pulses, fertilizers (potash), mineral fuels, wood pulp, gems & precious stones (diamonds), aircraft parts, machinery parts, paper & paperboard and iron & aluminum scrap.

• India’s main services sector exports include telecommunications, computer and information services, and other business services.

• With more than 1.8 million Indo-Canadians and estimated one million non-resident Indians, Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diaspora abroad.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)