Canada has announced the suspension of its free trade agreement with India. india is going to host the G20 Summit in delhi on 9th and 10th. While Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau will attend the conference, canada has announced the suspension of the Free Trade Agreement with India. PTI news agency quoted an official as saying that the Canadian side has indicated that it will suspend the India-Canada trade agreement negotiations at an early stage. Trade and industry Ministry officials have said that the talks will resume and that the pause will help both countries gauge progress. About 6 rounds of negotiations have been held so far between the two countries regarding the trade agreement. Last May, indian and Canadian officials negotiated an interim agreement covering goods, services, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and dispute settlement. The deal was targeted to be completed by the end of this year. Subsequently, a comprehensive economic partnership agreement was expected to be signed between india and Canada.
Interim talks with canada, also known as an early-stage trade deal, are said to be progressing rapidly. The seventh round of negotiations for an early stage trade agreement was held in Ottawa in April. India-Canada bilateral merchandise trade to reach $8.2 billion by 2022 It has grown by about 25 percent compared to 2021. Against this backdrop, canada has announced the suspension of its trade agreement with India. The hiatus is said to be due to issues between the two sides over rules of origin and certain fees. Meanwhile, india is negotiating trade deals with britain and the european Union. india is also making efforts to expand the initial harvest trade agreement with australia into a free trade agreement.
Although india and canada are strategic partners, over the past few years, india has often raised concerns about pro-Khalistan elements in Canada. As a result, anti-India voices are being heard in many parts of Canada. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau's state visit to india in february 2018 did not go well. It was attributed to an invitation to Khalistani separatist Jasbal Atwal for a reception organized by Trudeau in Delhi. Justin Trudeau, who recently objected to india not inviting Ukrainian President Zelensky, had also said that he would raise the ukraine issue when he comes to delhi for the G20 summit.
“Suspension of India-Canada Free Trade Agreement negotiations will not affect indian trade interests. Because more than half of the indian products have already entered duty free in Canada. They would not have benefited from this agreement.” ajay Srivastava, co-founder of Think Tank Global Research Initiative, said.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel