Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I'm very happy to be here today to share a little bit about my company and our experiences in India.
NOVO Plastics is a Canadian manufacturer of engineered plastic components and assemblies, primarily for the auto sector, but for some consumer commercial markets as well. We have a very strong foundation in engineering, innovation, and R and D. As part of that mandate, we have developed quite a few proprietary products.
The Indian market is very appealing to us because it gives us global diversification. Just to give you some figures for India in the auto sector, India currently has the largest three-wheeler volume in the world in terms of manufacturing. They are the second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, and they're the third-largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world. The volumes are tremendous there. For any Canadian manufacturing company, it's very important to have a global strategy, and I firmly believe that India has to be a part of that global strategy.
That said, we entered the Indian market two years ago with a proprietary product, the plastic muffler. Our plastic muffler replaces steel mufflers on vehicles. It reduces emissions, it's lighter, and it has the same durability as a steel muffler. We went to all the large OEMs in India to introduce our product, and we're in the final stages of testing, just before we reach commercialization. It's a tremendous opportunity for our company, and we see a great market in India.
In India, from my perspective, we have been working with a variety of government agencies and some representatives in that country. We've worked with the trade commissioner's office successfully. We've worked with the High Commission office. The EDC has been a big help to us in India. We have had great support, and they've really helped us enter that market. That's an important facet: that beyond the CEPA agreement, those things are very important for Canadian companies looking at that market. I think the focus on those things has to continue.
I think the recent visit by the Prime Minister, along with a delegation, really went far in raising the Canadian profile in India. I think that's also a very important thing that we have to focus on going forward as the CEPA negotiations continue. I think there has to be a continued push by both business and government in that regard.
Moving on to some of the challenges we're facing as a Canadian company entering that market, first and foremost, I mentioned that we do quite a bit of R and D innovation. India has a great hunger for technology. If you look at that country and all the auto manufacturers or two-wheeler manufacturers, you see that they have quite a few joint ventures with companies from other countries, where the companies supply technology. That said, when we export our technology, our products, into India, we are facing tariffs, and in a country that itself really thrives on low-cost manufacturing, the model is not in sync with our export into that country. I think the elimination of trade barriers is a very key point as we move forward in these CEPA negotiations.
The second point is the legal framework in India, the legal infrastructure, so to speak, and the associated intellectual property protection laws. Also, as a Canadian company, we've encountered some issues, first in negotiating very straightforward NDAs or confidentiality agreements, or manufacturing agreements. But when you get to a dispute arbitration clause, we often have to pick a third party neutral country as the jurisdiction, because, to be quite honest with you, we want to stay out of the Indian court system. It tends to get bogged down and it's not conducive to expedited business in that country. I think that's very important.
As a company who has customers in India throughout the country, the third thing is that the infrastructure in India is quite complex and it doesn't lend itself to ease of distribution. I think that is a long-term project, and it really has to be focused on by our counterparts in India.
The fourth thing with the CEPA negotiations is the facilitation of business professionals back and forth between India and Canada. As we set up our business in India, we're going to be sending some people from our company to India, and vice versa; I will bring some engineers and skilled people here to be trained in our country. The facilitation of those exchanges, whether that be visas or ease of access, is very important as well.
It is our hope that the CEPA negotiations will continue at a rapid pace. I know that everyone has set a pretty aggressive timeline. It's a very important market in the world, and we look forward to the continued success of these negotiations.
Thank you.