Canada is “tantalizingly close” to launching formal free trade negotiations with India, says a high-ranking federal official.
The two countries have been in exploratory discussions since January 2009. Last November, they launched a joint study group to explore key sectors of interest and the possible parameters of a free trade agreement.
That work is now complete, said Donald Stephenson, assistant deputy minister of trade and policy negotiations for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
He told delegates at the 2010 Canadian Special Crops Association conference in Saskatoon last week to expect to hear soon about the launch of trade negotiations with Canada’s largest pulse crop customer.
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Gordon Bacon, chief executive officer of Pulse Canada, welcomed the news.
“Because it’s our biggest market, we really can’t afford to have any disruption in trade with that market. You simply can’t go out and replace a market like India overnight,” he said.
Canadian pulse exporters do not face tariff disadvantages in India but there have been market access problems, such as an ongoing phytosanitary issue involving stem and bulb nematodes requiring fumigation, that has increased the costs and risks of shipping product to India.
Bacon said free trade agreements are designed to ensure a more predictable trade environment.
“This is the way you make sure that you’ve got a framework that’s going to ensure you have access over the long term,” he said.
Pulse Canada will inspect the terms of the agreement being negotiated to ensure there are no impediments to the import of Canadian pulses.
Stephenson also expressed concern that foreign governments could disrupt trade by implementing border measures related to climate change and the carbon content of goods. Parliaments in the European Union and the United States are discussing such measures, which may become the next major non-tariff barriers facing shippers.
