“There is no path to achieving success in this massive and strategically important region without building strong and enduring economic ties with India—one of Canada’s last large, untapped trade opportunities.”
The Business Council of Canada and the Canada India Business Council in a recent report recommended that the Canadian government build stronger economic ties with India and develop a “comprehensive India strategy”. “There is no path to achieving success in this massive and strategically important region without building strong and enduring economic ties with India—one of Canada’s last large, untapped trade opportunities,” said the report, published on August 4, reported theepochtimes.com.
The report included analysis from Ciuriak Consulting, which found that exports to India grew by an average of nearly 12 percent per year between 2001 and 2019, rising to US$3.9 billion from US$517 million. Over that same period, Canada’s imports from India rose at an annual pace of nearly 10 percent.
Trade negotiations between Canada and India began in 2010 under the Conservative government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but the deal was later stalled and has been shelved for the past 12 years
While Canada-India trade appears quite robust, the report said that the Indian market was actually shifting away from North America and Europe, and was increasing trade with China, the United Arab Emirates, and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. “The best path forward is a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with India,” the report said.
CEPA, which the report describes as an bilateral trade deal, would increase Canada-India two-way trade by an estimated $8.8 billion a year, and bring about an annual GDP boost of 0.25 percent by 2035.
Trade negotiations between Canada and India began in 2010 under the Conservative government of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but the deal was later stalled and has been shelved for the past 12 years. In early 2022, the two governments announced plans to resume talks toward a comprehensive free-trade deal.
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