The end of this year is likely to see India move considerably forward on trade agreements with both the European Union (EU) and Canada. 

While the Indian government expects the EU authorities to sign the text of the free trade agreement (FTA) with India by the end of this year, it also expects to complete negotiations on an FTA with Canada by that time, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).  

Further, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal will be traveling to the U.S. at the end of this month to attend the G20 Trade Ministers’ meeting, during which he will likely hold a bilateral meeting with his U.S. counterpart to discuss trade issues, including the much-delayed interim trade agreement announced in February.

The India-New Zealand FTA is also expected to become operational in the second half of October, Mr. Agrawal said, adding that an exact date has not been finalised. The Hindu, however, has learnt that the most likely date for operationalisation is October 19.

EU FTA on track  

“On the EU FTA, it is moving as per schedule,” Mr. Agrawal said. “The European Commission has sent it to the European Council for approval. After approval, it goes for signing. We expect them to sign it before the end of this year.” 

After signing, the deal will have to be passed and ratified by the European Parliament. 

“As far as the process has gone on, I think it is the fastest so far,” Mr. Agrawal noted. 

Canada deal expedited

The Hindu had reported on September 10 that the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would be completed by the end of this year, citing comments made by Canadian High Commissioner Christopher Cooter at The Hindu Mind event in New Delhi. 

Mr. Agrawal has now confirmed this, saying that the Canadian team is currently in New Delhi and that both sides are working towards a year-end deadline. 

“The fourth round of negotiations are ongoing,” Mr. Agrawal said. “The discussions are across all the chapters of the deal. Negotiations for two chapters have already been concluded. Both sides want to see good progress in this round because we are looking at a very tight timeline as both sides are working to see if we can close this agreement within the end of this year.” 

Talks with U.S.

The Commerce Secretary also confirmed that Mr. Goyal will be traveling to the U.S. for the G20 Ministerial meeting on trade that is scheduled to take place on September 30 to October 1.

“We expect during the visit there definitely will be a bilateral meeting between the ministers, though it has not been confirmed and finalised,” Mr. Agrawal said. “When the bilateral takes place, all trade issues will be discussed. Even the ongoing FTA negotiations and the way forward on that will be on the agenda for discussion.”

India has been holding off on signing the interim agreement on trade with the U.S., announced in February 2026, waiting for the U.S. to make clear India’s tariff advantage over its competitors as had been agreed to. 

In the meantime, the U.S. has levied a 10% tariff on India for not doing enough to stop the import of goods made using forced labour. It is also investigating whether India and other countries are using excess capacity to export to the U.S., which could see additional tariffs being levied.

India and Canada have agreed to resume negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with an aim to increase the two-way trade to $50 billion by 2030, according to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.

An FTA or Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has many strategic elements to it and it is a demonstration of the trust between the two countries, Goyal said here at an event on Monday (November 24, 2025).

The pact would give confidence to investors, businesses of both sides, he said.

“We have agreed to begin negotiations on a high-ambition CEPA and double the trade between the two nations by 2030,” he said, adding the two countries are natural allies and do not compete with each other.

The strengths of India and Canada can become a force multiplier for businesses and investors, Mr. Goyal said.

“There is a lot that we can learn from Canada and a lot we can offer Canada. There is a lot of potential on critical minerals, critical minerals processing technologies. There is a good possibility on nuclear energy – particularly with our engagement with Canada on Uranium supplies,” he said, adding, “we can diversify our supply chains on both sides”.

In 2023, Canada had paused negotiations for an FTA with India. The India-Canada relations hit rock bottom following then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India had dismissed Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd”.

In March 2022, the two countries had re-launched negotiations for an interim agreement, officially dubbed as Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA).

Over half a dozen rounds of talks have been held on the trade pact so far.

Normally in a trade agreement, two countries significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. They also liberalise norms for promoting trade in services and attract investments.

India’s exports to Canada rose 9.8% to $4.22 billion in 2024-25 from $3.84 billion in 2023-24. Imports, however, dipped 2.33% to $4.44 billion in the last fiscal year from USD 4.55 billion in 2023-24.

The renewed vibrancy in ties between the two countries followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s talks with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Canada’s Kananaskis in June.

Bilateral trade in goods and services between India and Canada stood at $18.38 billion in 2023.

There are about 2.9 million Indian diaspora and over 4,27,000 Indian students in Canada.