Sugar concerns cast shadow over EU‑India free-trade deal

Uncertainty over sugar is weighing on the potential EU‑India free-trade agreement, raising concerns among European producers and lawmakers. 

French opposition MEPs (RN/PfE) have highlighted the risks for sugar-dependent economies in the EU’s outermost regions, including Guadeloupe, Réunion, and Martinique, calling on the European Commission to consider safeguard measures or even exclude sugar from the deal.

Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen acknowledged the sector’s sensitivities, noting that the EU sugar industry has long been treated as a sensitive product in trade negotiations with major sugar-producing countries. Since 2019, the High-Level Group on Sugar has advised that the competitiveness and resilience of EU producers be protected, and European sugar producers have repeatedly expressed concerns about including sugar in EU‑India negotiations.

Hansen assured that the Commission is taking due care of the sugar sector’s sensitivities and intends to act in line with its commitment to safeguard EU interests in all free-trade negotiations. However, he did not provide concrete details on how these concerns will be addressed, leaving open the possibility of quotas, special clauses, or even excluding sugar from the agreement. Negotiations are ongoing and approaching their final stages, but the exact measures remain uncertain.