Cooperation in Trade in Services

Canada-India Track 1.5 Dialogue Paper No. 5

June 23, 2020

Over the past decade, there has been a shift in global trade from trade in goods to trade in services. Unlike goods, services are intangible and consumed by the user directly, without intermediate supervision. Thus, the only way to ensure the quality of a service is to enforce standards on the service provider. This is the responsibility of domestic sector-specific regulatory institutions established by the government. This paper examines the current state of services trade in India and Canada, considers India’s services trade with Canada and outlines a number of measures the countries could take to support services trade.

Part of Series

Canada-India Track 1.5 Dialogue

Canada-India Track 1.5 Dialogue is a collaboration between CIGI and Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations. The Canada-India Track 1.5 Dialogue works jointly on multilateral issues and identifies areas where improved cooperation could benefit both countries. To address these challenges, the papers produced under this partnership will help to develop policy recommendations to promote innovation and navigate shared governance issues that are integral to the continued growth of Canada-India bilateral relations.

About the Authors

Akshay Mathur is a CIGI senior fellow and an expert in economic diplomacy with a focus on global economic governance.

Purvaja Modak is a researcher for Geoeconomic Studies and manager for the Research Office at Gateway House.