FTA with Canada to start from scratch as agenda more ambitious

India and Canada are likely to start formal negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by the first quarter of 2026, but the exercise would be from scratch and not a continuation of the talks that were suspended two years back, as ambitions are higher. This time, both sides are more interested in a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which could be much wider in scope and likely include goods, services, investments and many other chapters. Earlier, the trade talks were for a limited early progress trade agreement.  The expansion was to happen later. Also, a lot of economic developments have happened in the last two years that need to be taken into account. India and Canada suspended negotiations for the limited free trade pact in September 2023 after over a year of talks, as per a report.

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