Q&A: Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, Canada

India and Canada have set a bilateral trade target of $15 bn'

India and Canada aim at achieving a bilateral trade target of $15 billion in the next five years, even as both countries are beginning a series of negotiations to have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) soon that would yield significant economic benefit for both countries and lower tariffs over a large number of products, says Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, Canada, in an interaction with Nayanima Basu. Edited excerpts:

Now that the joint study group has completed its report, when will negotiations start for the CEPA and by when do you plan to seal the deal? What are your main demands from India?
We are starting our negotiations from tomorrow and there is a possibility for a second round of negotiations by early next year.

In terms of deadline, it is too early to put a timeline on it because trade agreements take longer period than people would like them to. We have much ambition, so we do want to have a significant agreement and that will take some time. We would like it to be signed as soon as possible.

We do not have demands as such, but we hope to achieve a mutual agreement that opens up trade in a wide range of goods and services. We will let the negotiators on the table to decide what issues they have in contention between them. In principle, our objective is to see free and open movement of goods and services as much as possible.

How do you plan to achieve $15 billion worth bilateral trade in five years and what if the CEPA would not be signed by then?
Well, a trade agreement would do a great deal in achieving the target. Based on the joint study, we foresee a benefit of 50 per cent increase in two-way trade. Now, that is far short of what is needed to achieve the $15-billion target. But we hope that trade would be increasing substantially even if we engage ourselves in an agreement. The study also indicates that the economic benefit to Canada’s economy from the trade agreement would be in the range of $6-15 billion and annual benefit to the Indian economy would be in the range of $6-12 billion. So, both countries stand to gain.

When do you plan to ratify the recently-signed civil nuclear cooperation agreement? Do you think that will also boost the bilateral trade?
We believe that is a positive in the bilateral relations. We are going through a process, which is the next stage, that is of administrative arrangements between the two countries.

Where do you think the Doha Round of negotiations are headed for? Like US, do you also believe that developing countries need to offer more in terms of market access?

We are very supportive of the Doha Round, we hope that it will succeed. But having said that, I also think one has to be realistic. If the process has to be unlocked, there has to be a change in the current approach, else the impasse will not end. That will happen by making it more ambitious a deal than what it is right now. So, we do think that the Americans do have a point that the world has changed dramatically since the time the process began almost 10 years back. Thus, while we would like to see Doha Round concluded, right now it does appear to be in an impasse. And that is why, it is important to move forward on other plurilateral and bilateral trade agreement. The trade agreement with India is one of our major trade initiatives right now.

You said the approach to the Doha Round needs to change. Do you mean that negotiations need to start afresh?
It is about being realistic. I do not foresee the key impediments being removed unless there is a willingness to step up the agreement. Canada supports the agreement as it is now. We would like to see it implemented, but if one becomes realistic, then this is not going to happen right now.