A Windsor Business Looks East
For G. Bareich Import-Export Inc., a Windsor, Ontario company that manufactures coatings for the automotive rubber industry, the writing is on the wall: the U.S. market isn't the sure thing it once was.
With American tariffs creating mounting uncertainty for Canadian exporters, the company's president has made one thing clear: when it comes to India, "We need to be there."
It's a sentiment that's becoming more common among Canadian manufacturers — and it's arriving at just the right moment, as Canada and India work toward a bilateral free trade agreement.
Why India, Why Now
India is one of the fastest-growing automotive markets in the world. With a population of more than 1.4 billion and a rapidly expanding middle class, demand for vehicles — and the components and materials that go into making them — is surging.
For a niche manufacturer like G. Bareich, which supplies specialized coatings used in automotive rubber parts, that represents a potentially massive opportunity. The company has built its expertise serving North American auto producers, many of them concentrated in the Windsor-Detroit corridor — one of the most auto-dense regions on the continent.
But with U.S. tariffs disrupting cross-border trade, Canadian suppliers in the auto sector are under real pressure to diversify their customer base. India offers a market where Canadian expertise in auto manufacturing could translate directly into demand.
The Trade Deal Factor
Canada and India have been in talks over a comprehensive trade agreement for years, with negotiations picking up steam more recently. A deal would lower barriers for Canadian goods entering India — including industrial products like the coatings G. Bareich makes — while also opening Canadian markets to Indian exports.
For smaller and mid-sized Canadian manufacturers, the difference between paying steep import duties and trading freely can determine whether entering a market is even viable. That's what makes the trade deal talks so significant for companies watching from the sidelines.
Canada has been actively working to strengthen trade ties outside of North America, particularly after the return of U.S. tariff pressure under the Trump administration reignited concerns about over-reliance on a single trading partner.
A Broader Canadian Pivot
G. Bareich's story is part of a larger pattern playing out across Canadian industry. Businesses that built their operations around seamless U.S. access are being pushed — sometimes reluctantly, sometimes eagerly — to explore markets in Asia, Europe, and beyond.
For some, it's an unwelcome disruption. For others, it's a long-overdue diversification that the tariff shock finally made urgent enough to act on.
Either way, India's scale is hard to ignore. It's the kind of market where even capturing a small slice of demand can be transformative for a mid-sized Canadian manufacturer.
Whether Canada and India can close a trade deal — and how quickly — will go a long way toward determining how many more Windsor-style pivots we see in the months ahead.
Source: CBC News Windsor
