[Marxistindia] Oppose the India-EU Free Trade Agreement

[news from the cpi(m)]

January 27, 2026

 

Press Statement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the
following statement:

 

Oppose the India-EU Free Trade Agreement

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) opposes the
India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed today. This agreement represents
a wholesale surrender of India's economic interests to the European Union.

Under the terms of the deal, India will eliminate or drastically reduce
tariffs on over 90 per cent of goods imported from the EU. These include
automobiles (reduced from 110% to 40%), iron and steel (22% to 0%),
pharmaceuticals (11% to 0%), wines and spirits (150% to 40%), processed
foods (50% to 0%), and sheep meat (33% to 0%). Due to such steep tariff
reductions, India's automobile, pharmaceutical, and machinery industries
will be severely and adversely affected. The EU itself projects its exports
to India to grow by 107.6 per cent within a few years. It will adversely
affect employment as the imports in automobile, electrical machinery etc.,
will have an impact. 

The reduced cost of cars and wines will only benefit the affluent, while the
tariff cuts will wreck the livelihoods of workers, farmers, and common
people.

Furthermore, the FTA aims to strengthen the India-Middle East-Europe
Economic Corridor (IMEC), which designates the port of Haifa in Israel as a
key transit point. At a time when the world is demanding Israel be declared
an apartheid state and face sanctions for its genocidal aggression in Gaza,
the Indian government is choosing to deepen ties with Israel through this
FTA. This is deplorable and should not be allowed.

The BJP-led Union government has consistently sacrificed the interests of
Indian farmers and workers in all its FTA negotiations. The CPI(M) demands
that the government place the full text of the India-EU FTA before the
upcoming budget session of Parliament and ensure a thorough discussion. All
anti-people FTAs signed by this government must be rescinded, and the
interests of farmers, workers and the people must be protected.

 

Muralidharan

For CPI(M) Central Committee Office

 

 

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