India Minister says Canada stopped talks on free trade agreement

The talks between India and Canada for a free trade agreement are on a pause as the latter stopped discussions due to some misconceptions, India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal said.

“There are some misconceptions among some Canadian politicians, which are baseless,” Goyal said at the the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday. 

Goyal said the move would hurt Canada more as India’s market is big and offers more opportunities. He added talks with the UK around the agreement are progressing steadily.

Canada-India ties have deteriorated since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused New Delhi of orchestrating the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia.

Trade between the two nations stood at $8.16 billion in 2022-23, dwarfing in comparison to $128.7 billion in India’s bilateral trade with the US. However, India depends almost entirely on imports for its potash needs, and buys a large amount of the crop nutrient from Canada, the world’s biggest exporter.