India and Canada will hold the sixth round of negotiations for their proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in New Delhi in early November, as the two countries intensify efforts to conclude the free trade pact by the end of this year, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday.
The announcement follows the conclusion of the fifth round of negotiations between the chief negotiators of the two countries in Canada on October 9.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his Canadian counterpart Maninder Sidhu also held discussions on October 13 and agreed to advance negotiations for the proposed agreement.
The two countries are seeking to conclude the negotiations by December, with the pact expected to facilitate greater market access, investment and trade in services.
A CEPA is a comprehensive trade agreement under which participating countries substantially reduce or eliminate import duties on a wide range of goods while easing restrictions on services and investment.
The negotiations come against the backdrop of a decline in bilateral merchandise trade between India and Canada.
Trade in goods fell 8.23 per cent to USD 7.95 billion in 2025-26 from USD 8.7 billion in the preceding financial year.
The proposed agreement is intended to provide a framework for expanding economic engagement between the two countries by reducing trade barriers and improving market access.
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ, ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ธ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ
In a separate development, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said India and Mexico had finalised the terms of reference for formally launching negotiations on a preferential trade agreement (PTA).
The terms of reference define the scope and framework of negotiations and represent an important preparatory step before formal discussions begin.
"Hopefully, it will be signed this month," Agrawal said, referring to the terms of reference.
He clarified that the proposed agreement would be a preferential trade pact primarily focused on merchandise trade.
Unlike a comprehensive free trade agreement, a PTA generally provides preferential tariff treatment to a specified range of products rather than covering a broader range of goods, services and investment.
The proposed negotiations are expected to focus on reducing or eliminating import duties on selected products traded between the two countries.
The initiative comes at a time when bilateral trade between India and Mexico has also registered a decline.
Trade fell 9.11 per cent to USD 7.83 billion in 2025-26 from USD 8.61 billion in 2024-25.
India's exports to Mexico stood at USD 5.72 billion, while imports amounted to approximately USD 2.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of USD 3.62 billion during the last financial year.
๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐, ๐ฝ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ผ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ
India's principal exports to Mexico include motor cars, transport vehicles, automobile components, electrical and electronic equipment, telecommunications instruments and industrial machinery.
Other major export categories include organic chemicals, pharmaceutical products, aluminium and articles of iron and steel.
Imports from Mexico include crude petroleum and other mineral fuels, electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, ores, integrated circuits and precious metals.
The proposed preferential trade agreement could provide a framework for reducing tariff barriers on selected products and improving market access for businesses in both countries.
However, the precise products and tariff concessions to be covered by the agreement will be determined during negotiations.
The Commerce Ministry has not announced a timetable for concluding the proposed India-Mexico PTA.
๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ๐
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry is organising workshops across the country to improve awareness and utilisation of India's free trade agreements.
Agrawal said the initiative was intended to help entrepreneurs understand the benefits available under existing trade pacts and encourage businesses to make greater use of preferential market access.
"We are explaining the benefits of FTAs to every entrepreneur. We are reaching out as much as we can," he said.
The workshops are aimed at familiarising businesses with the opportunities created by trade agreements, including tariff concessions and access to overseas markets.
The Commerce Secretary said broader awareness among entrepreneurs would help improve the utilisation of India's trade agreements.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
In another initiative, Goyal on Thursday launched the National Strategic Trade Command Centre (NSTCC) in New Delhi to strengthen data-driven monitoring and evidence-based decision-making in India's international trade sector.
Developed by the Department of Commerce, the centre is designed to integrate trade-related information and provide policymakers with a consolidated view of India's trade performance and regulatory processes.
The facility will support monitoring and analysis of export promotion schemes, regulatory approvals, application processing and other operational indicators.
According to the ministry, the command centre will enable senior policymakers and government officials to access integrated data for more effective monitoring of trade developments and administrative performance.
The initiative is intended to strengthen coordination across government agencies and improve the use of data in trade-related decisions.
๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
During the launch, Goyal reviewed the SCOMET dashboard, which monitors matters relating to Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies.
The SCOMET framework governs the export of specified sensitive and dual-use items that are subject to regulatory controls.
Goyal directed that meetings of the Inter-Ministerial Committee be held regularly, including on a weekly basis if necessary, to address the backlog of pending applications.
He emphasised the need to expedite the processing of applications and ensure that pending cases were cleared without unnecessary delays.
The review highlighted the government's focus on improving the efficiency of regulatory approvals while maintaining oversight of sensitive exports.
๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐
The Commerce Ministry said the NSTCC would eventually evolve into a broader whole-of-government decision-support mechanism.
Under the proposed expansion, access to the platform will be provided in phases to authorised stakeholders, including relevant central ministries, state governments, Export Promotion Councils and other institutions.
The system is expected to provide a common platform for monitoring trade performance, regulatory approvals and export-related schemes.
The ministry said the integrated approach would strengthen the monitoring, analysis and governance of India's international trade ecosystem.
The developments involving Canada, Mexico and the new trade command centre reflect the government's parallel efforts to negotiate market-access arrangements, encourage greater use of existing trade agreements and improve administrative oversight of international commerce.