EU trade deals put farmers at risk. What you need to know

The aggressive foreign trade policy of the United States is forcing the European Union (EU) to diversify trade flows and look for new markets. But agreements designed to expand markets for some European producers encroach on the interests of others, and farmers are most often affected by EU foreign policy. Why the interests of agricultural producers are the last to be remembered and what the purpose of the European transactions is — in the material of Izvestia.

Agreement with Ukraine

• The main purpose of the free trade agreement, which entered into force on October 29, 2025, is to support Ukraine in the conflict, but the "Autonomous Trade Measures", which suspended all duties on goods from Ukraine exported to the EU from 2022, ceased to operate in June 2025. There is now a transitional trade system between the EU and Ukraine based on the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

• The trade agreement includes protective measures for key EU agricultural producers: quotas for sugar, poultry, eggs, wheat, corn and honey, as well as a special "braking mechanism" that will allow emergency restrictions on imports from Ukraine. The EU has maintained duty-free imports of metallurgical products until the end of 2026, but due to the return of duties and the introduction of quotas, which are ten times lower than the volume of Ukrainian exports in 2024, Kiev risks losing up to 3.5 billion euros.

Option zero: Is the trade agreement between India and the EU dangerous for Russia

Despite the expansion of cooperation with the European Union, New Delhi does not intend to comply with its sanctions against Russia.

• Despite these steps, EU farmers are concerned about the free access of Ukrainian products to the market, insist that imports from Ukraine must comply with EU requirements, and demand that officials compensate agricultural producers for losses. The EU Agriculture Council is considering new measures to protect the European market within the framework of an agreement with Ukraine at the request of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, the press reported on January 27.

• European farmers are outraged that, in violation of competition, Ukrainian agricultural producers are supplying goods to the market on preferential terms. Meanwhile, an excess of pesticides was previously noted in Ukrainian grain, salmonella was found in poultry meat, and the accompanying documents turned out to be fake. Some European countries have internal measures in place to protect the market. For example, Poland has an indefinite ban on imports from Ukraine of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower, as well as some of their processed products.

Agreement with MERCOSUR

• The deal with the MERCOSUR customs Union, signed on January 17, has been in preparation for 20 years. Europe expects to increase exports to MERCOSUR countries by up to 50% by reducing tariffs on agricultural products to Latin America, including wine, spirits, dairy products and olive oil, as well as protecting traditional European product names from unfair competition. At the same time, the abolition of duties by more than 90% will be reciprocal, and European producers fear that cheaper agricultural products from South America will flood into EU markets.

• The main beneficiaries of the deal were to be European pharmacists and automakers, who could save up to €4 billion a year by eliminating duties. The agreement could save German automakers, which suffered as a result of the rejection of cheap Russian fuel, the promotion of a "green" agenda and competition with Chinese electric cars. For automakers, this is also an opportunity to circumvent the European ban on the sale of cars with gasoline and diesel engines, which is due to come into force in 2035. The EU also probably plans to gain access to South American minerals and displace China, which has strengthened its position in the region over the past 25 years and made it one of the main consumers of its goods, including electronics, cars and mobile services.

• After the protests of farmers in European countries, the agreement was amended to restrict the import of agricultural products from MERCOSUR countries, and the main concession was an increase in EU spending to support agricultural producers — after 2027, the target budget will amount to at least € 300 billion, as well as a unified system of crisis social protection in the amount of € 6.3 billion euros. But in the end, the document never entered into force — under pressure from a number of European countries, including leading agricultural producers France and Poland, the agreement was sent to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which postponed the implementation of the deal for 18-24 months.

Agreement with India

• The EU trade deal with India was concluded on January 27, 2026, as a result of a multi—year negotiation process - the countries have been reaching an agreement since 2007. Europe was in a hurry to conclude an agreement due to the aggressive tariff policy of the United States and the desire to counter Chinese influence in Asia, as well as to drive a wedge between India and BRICS and, above all, India and Russia: to stop New Delhi from purchasing Russian weapons.

Farmer's feeling: The European Union has sharply reduced the purchase of fertilizers from Russia

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• Currently, 36% of India's arms imports come from Russia, but France is already in second place among suppliers, which occupies 31% of this market, which is also entered by Germany and Spain. In order to strengthen its position in the region, the European Union is ready to invest in the Indian economy: within two years, it plans to allocate € 500 million for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and industrial modernization.

• As a result of the deal, the EU expects to double exports to India by 2032 by eliminating or reducing tariffs by 96.6% and saving about €4 billion per year. In particular, duties on cars will be gradually reduced from 110% to 10%, and duties on agricultural products from the EU will also be reduced and partially abolished. Europe retains import tariffs on certain goods, including beef, sugar, chicken, honey and soft wheat in the interests of its producers. The reduction in duties will be gradual and will take effect in early 2027.

• For New Delhi, the agreement provides preferential access to European markets and stronger ties with the EU, as opposed to other European allies in Asia - Pakistan and Thailand. As a result of the deal, India will receive tariff reductions on 97% of goods shipped to the EU, which covers 99.5% of the cost of trade. At the same time, India maintains protective duties on European grain and corn.

Why there is no protectionism

• Since the EU is a union of independent states, the decision—making process here is quite complicated and sometimes contradicts the interests of some countries. In these circumstances, it is difficult to take into account the interests of farmers as a separate group and pursue a protectionist policy, especially since producers are not the core electorate of the ruling European parties — they most often support right-wing politicians. It was only after mass protests and slogans about leaving the EU that agricultural producers had to listen.

• Due to the crisis of its business model, the European Union is looking for any available sources of economic growth, besides, Europe's priority remains to weaken Russia - in particular, the agreement with India is designed to oust Moscow from the Indian arms market. Here, the interests of ordinary Europeans are considered acceptable to neglect. For example, the agreement with India opens the way to the European Union not only for qualified employees, but also for seasonal workers from India, which will not only affect the labor market, but may also worsen the interethnic crisis in the EU.

During the preparation of the material, Izvestia interviewed:

• financial market expert Andrey Barkhota;
• political strategist Oleg Vedutov.