India-EU FTA: CPI(M) Concerns & Impact on Livelihoods

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The trade deal sealed with the European Union on Tuesday is detrimental to the interests of India, the CPI(M) said, claiming that the reduced cost of cars and wines will only benefit the affluent, while the tariff cuts will wreck the livelihoods of the common people.

In a post on X, CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby said the tariff cuts will "devastate" the livelihoods of the Indian workers.

In a statement, the Left party demanded that the government place the full text of the India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) before the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament (commencing Wednesday) and ensure a thorough discussion on the matter.

India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday sealed a free trade agreement -- billed as "mother of all deals" -- with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership unveiling a grand agenda to leverage trade and defence to shore up ties and work towards a rules-based world order, officials said.

The finalisation of the deal came 18 years after the two sides began negotiations on it, and it may take at least six months to formally sign the agreement, as it will require legal scrubbing by both sides.

"The India-EU FTA signed today is detrimental to the interests of our country. Its tariff cuts will devastate the livelihoods of Indian workers and farmers, and further burden our common people," Baby said on X.

The Haifa port in Israel is designated as a key transit point in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which the FTA seeks to strengthen, he claimed.

"At a time when Israel should be declared an apartheid state and subjected to sanctions for its genocidal aggression in Gaza, it is a matter of deep shame that the BJP-led Union government is instead moving to deepen its ties with Israel through this agreement," Baby said.

This is nothing short of a "wholesale surrender of India's economic interests to the European Union", he said.


"Such a sell-out cannot be permitted. The interests of Indian farmers, workers and the people must be protected," Baby added.

In the statement, the Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) opposed the FTA and claimed that 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 per cent to 40 per cent), iron and steel (22 per cent to 0), pharmaceuticals (11 per cent to 0), wines and spirits (150 per cent to 40 per cent), processed foods (50 per cent to 0), and sheep meat (33 per cent to 0).

"Due to such steep tariff reductions, India's automobile, pharmaceutical and machinery industries will be severely and adversely affected," the Left party said.

"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," it said.

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, the CPI(M) claimed.

It also accused the BJP-led Union government of consistently sacrificing the interests of 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," the statement said.