EU-Australia: sugar subject to yet another free trade agreement

Priority question for written answer P-000943/2026
to the Commission
Rule 144
Anne-Sophie Frigout (PfE), André Rougé (PfE), Valérie Deloge (PfE), Georgiana Teodorescu (ECR), Pierre Pimpie (PfE), Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain (PfE), Gilles Pennelle (PfE), Katarína Roth Neveďalová (NI), Mélanie Disdier (PfE), Marion Maréchal (ECR), Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă (NI)

The beet-sugar-ethanol sector is going through a severe crisis: six of France's twenty-five sugar refineries have ceased operating in the last ten years, while growers are facing record-high costs and prices that are at an all-time low.

One of the reasons for this has been the liberalisation of the sugar trade with Pakistan, Ukraine and now Mercosur. The Commission, with a constant lack of transparency, is preparing to finalise a new trade agreement - this time with Australia. In addition to most certainly reducing tariffs on Australian meat exports, that agreement could also cover sugar.

Australia, an ultra-competitive player and the world's fourth largest exporter of sugar, exporting almost 80 % of its production, could benefit significantly from lower tariffs on sugar, thereby posing an additional threat to a sector at risk.

In light of the above:

• 1.Can the Commission formally guarantee that sugar will not be included in the trade agreement?
• 2.If not, can it specify the volumes of duty-free tariff quotas that it intends to negotiate, and the timetable for their application?

Supporter[1]

Submitted: 6.3.2026

• [1] This question is supported by a Member other than the authors: Jean-Paul Garraud (PfE).