The EU is looking for new markets for the food industry

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 04. 25. 12:10

The loss of the American market poses a serious challenge for the European Union’s food exports, which is why the search for new trade opportunities has become more urgent than ever. Free trade negotiations have gained new momentum: negotiations with Thailand have resumed, and the parties have already completed the eleventh round of negotiations with India, writes vg.hu.

Based on the decision of the American president, the level of punitive tariffs was reduced to 10 percent, and their application was suspended for three months. In response to previous American tariff measures, the EU also imposed tariffs on several American products, including soy, beans, almonds, meat, blueberries, orange juice and white chocolate. However, following the American announcement, the EU also postponed the introduction of these countermeasures.

The EU measures still include a ban on the import of certain American products, such as chlorine-washed poultry, genetically modified crops and meat from hormone-treated animals.

Due to the uncertain US situation, the EU is increasingly looking for new partners. They have reopened previously interrupted negotiations with Thailand, and they are already past the 11th round with India. India’s population of 1.4 billion could represent enormous potential for the European food industry, especially since significant consumption growth is expected on the subcontinent in the coming decades, especially in the field of meat consumption, which is currently only a fraction of the global average.

Further negotiations have also been launched with the United Arab Emirates, while expansion into the Chinese market is currently hampered by the tariff war over electric cars.