Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday that Canada sees a way forward in reaching an international consensus on digital services taxes, and a decision not to support a global agreement to freeze the implementation of local taxes has been made in the national interest.

Last week, most countries with planned taxes on digital services agreed to postpone their implementation for at least another year longer than initially agreed upon as a global tax deal to replace local taxes.

Ottawa did not endorse extending this deal, stating that such a delay would put Canada at a disadvantage compared to countries that were already collecting revenues under existing digital services taxes.

Freeland told reporters in a call from New Delhi, “At this point, it’s really important for us to defend our national interest, and what we have agreed upon is a pause for two years.”

Freeland, who is in India for G7 and G20 meetings, said she had good conversations about finding a way forward on digital services taxes.

She said, “We support reaching an international consensus, and we have had some good conversations within the G7 and on a bilateral basis about finding a way forward where an international agreement can be reached and Canadian interests can be protected.”

She added, “We made our position clear in face-to-face talks… our partners understand our approach, and they understand the reasons behind Canada’s position.”

More than 140 countries were set to begin implementing a 2021 agreement next year to reform decades-old rules on how governments tax multinational companies.

The old rules are widely considered outdated, as digital giants like Apple or Amazon.com can earn profits in low-tax countries.

However, the process has continued, and over 30 governments that have or plan to have national digital services taxes agreed to put them on hold until the end of this year, or to drop them entirely once the first pillar of the tax deal is in place.

Freeland said that we strongly support international efforts to reach a tax agreement, and Canada is already in the process of implementing the second pillar. We also strongly support efforts to conclude and implement the first pillar as well.

The first part of the two-pillar deal aims to reallocate tax rights on profits of about $200 billion from the largest and most profitable multinational companies to the countries where their sales occur.

The second pillar calls on governments to end tax competition between governments to attract investment by setting a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% starting next year.