The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday called the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) an economic colonisation blueprint that will lead to systematic corporate capture of the vast Indian market.

Groundxero | January 30, 2026

Rejecting the India–European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a grave threat to farmers, workers and small producers, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday described the deal as a “blueprint for economic colonisation” and accused the Modi government of surrendering India’s economic sovereignty to European corporate interests. The joint platform of farmer unions also questioned why the agreement is being debated in the European Parliament while being kept entirely outside the purview of the Indian Parliament.

In a strongly worded statement, SKM said the FTA, signed on January 27 at Hyderabad House by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “is not a fair trade deal but an economic colonisation blueprint that will lead to systematic corporate capture of the vast Indian market, decimate domestic agriculture and industry, and ruin employment opportunities in India.”

The agreement, which the EU has hailed as India’s “biggest trade opening ever” and a “Mother of all deals”, is expected to come into force in 2027 after ratification by the European Parliament and individual EU member states. SKM said the celebratory narrative masks the “shocking scale of surrender” made by the BJP-led NDA government.

Detailing the concessions made under the FTA, SKM pointed out that India has agreed to completely eliminate import duties on a wide range of agricultural and processed food items, including olive oil, margarine, vegetable oils, fruit juices, non-alcoholic beer, processed foods such as breads, biscuits, pasta and chocolates, as well as sheep meat and pet food. Import duties on wine have reportedly been reduced from 150 percent to 20–30 percent, spirits from 150 percent to 40 percent, beer from 110 percent to 50 percent, and fruits like kiwis and pears from 33 percent to 10 percent.

“Though the agriculture sector is not as open as claimed by the Government of India, the opening of the processed food market will have a larger and disastrous impact on domestic agriculture production and small farmers,” the statement said.

SKM also accused the Narendra Modi government of capitulating to European Union pressure on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) norms. While India has been pushed to dilute its standards to ease EU imports, the EU continues to block Indian agricultural exports such as grapes and mangoes through “complex, expensive SPS barriers”, SKM said. “This double standard protects EU farmers while exposing our fields and consumers to unfair and unsafe competition,” it added, calling the agreement of such terms “a betrayal of farmers’ interests.”

SKM warned that the FTA will open the floodgates for nearly 4 billion Euros worth of subsidised European dairy products, processed foods, wines and spirits every year. Referring to the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, SKM said, “This is not competition; it is economic warfare against India’s smallholder farmers.” The elimination of tariffs on 96.6 percent of EU goods, it argued, will crash domestic prices and replicate the crises earlier seen in pulses and edible oils.

The press release also flagged serious concerns over intellectual property provisions in the agreement. Calling them a “Trojan horse for European seed and agro-chemical monopolies”, SKM said the FTA seeks to impose TRIPS-plus obligations that would “criminalise our ancient rights to save, exchange, and reuse seeds.” It further warned that extended pharmaceutical patents and data exclusivity would “gut India’s generic medicine industry, making healthcare unaffordable for millions”, adding that the deal “pushes corporate profits above people’s lives and farmers’ rights.” “Through this deal, the BJP government has pushed corporate profits above people’s lives and farmers’ rights,” the statement said.

Beyond agriculture, SKM said the agreement would accelerate deindustrialisation. The complete elimination of import duties on machinery, electrical equipment, medical and surgical instruments, aircraft, chemicals, iron and steel, plastics and pharmaceuticals, along with reducing tariffs on motor vehicles from 110 percent to just 10 percent, would “devastate MSMEs, creating huge unemployment.” Describing the agreement as “a complete surrender”, SKM said it is designed to sacrifice livelihoods “at the altar of European corporate profit.”

While the agreement must be debated and ratified by the European Parliament and national parliaments across Europe, the Indian Parliament has been completely bypassed. “Though Modi claims India as the ‘Mother of Democracy’, the Indian Parliament not discussing an agreement that will have a long-term impact on the people and economy is ridiculous,” the statement said. SKM demanded that “every negotiation document about the India–EU deal be put in the public domain and made answerable through debate in Parliament.”

Framing the FTA as part of a broader neoliberal and pro-corporate policy regime, SKM announced it would intensify mobilisation across the country and deepen coordination with workers’ organisations. “SKM will continue to mobilise farmers and join hands with workers to oppose the surrender of the NDA government to European corporate interests,” the statement said, calling for the February 12, 2026, General Strike to be made “most successful” against corporate legislations, policies and the India–EU FTA.