India and Canada are accelerating negotiations on their long-discussed free trade pact, aiming for a breakthrough before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated December visit, amid mutual efforts to expand bilateral trade and address sensitive sector issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected trip to Canada in December has injected fresh urgency into India’s trade talks with Ottawa, with both governments seeking to accelerate negotiations on a long-discussed free trade pact ahead of a potentially decisive round next month. According to sources tracking the process, the Commerce Ministry has been consulting industry on how to shield sensitive sectors while still securing wider access for Indian goods and services in Canada.
India’s negotiating team is due in Canada on October 5 for the fifth round of talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said last week that both sides are aiming to move quickly. Canadian trade officials have also signalled momentum: after visiting Mumbai on September 17, Canada’s Minister of International Trade, Maninder Sidhu, said discussions with Goyal had advanced the CEPA process and that the two countries were working towards concluding it by the end of 2026, with a goal of expanding annual bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2030.
The timing matters. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said this week that he expects to host Modi around the time of the G20 meeting in December and said the two leaders had earlier committed to trying to finish the negotiations this year. The Canadian government says the agreement is still under negotiation and that its aims include cutting tariffs, easing other trade barriers and making the investment regime more predictable.
The remaining issues are familiar and politically sensitive. India wants greater access for its professionals through more visas and fewer non-tariff barriers, including technical rules on product standards, packaging and labelling, while Canada is pressing for access for farm products. Government figures show India-Canada goods trade reached $8 billion in 2025-26, with Indian exports at $4.67 billion. India’s main shipments to Canada include pharmaceuticals, machinery, iron and steel articles, electronics, chemicals, jewellery and textiles, while imports from Canada are led by pulses, fertilisers, mineral fuels, wood pulp and aircraft parts. The renewed push also comes as India faces a more uncertain external trading environment, including shifting tariff policy in the United States, and as New Delhi broadens its trade agenda after implementing its agreement with the United Kingdom and preparing to bring another deal with New Zealand into force next month.
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