Sweet profits, bitter consequences – It’s time to end the sugar ATQ

This Autumn, the government’s budget might come with a sugar rush – but not the good kind. 

On November 26th, brace yourself for the familiar flash of cameras as Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Chancellor, brandishes the iconic red briefcase outside No. 10. The Autumn Budget will take centre stage, with headlines buzzing about tax tweaks, spending plans, and the delicate act of balancing the books. 

But beneath the soundbites, one quiet policy may be poised to slip by unnoticed: a sweet deal for Big Sugar. 

Enter the Autonomous Tariff Quota – or ATQ – a wonky-sounding trade measure with big consequences. In short, it lets 260,000 tonnes of raw cane sugar into the UK tax-free. Yes, current policy is actively helping flood the country with cheap sugar. 

That’s why Foodrise and Action on Sugar responded to the UK Government’s Treasury Autumn Budget representation survey, making the case for why the ATQ on raw cane sugar being imported into the UK should not be renewed. 

Because this sugar flood is a big problem, and not just a dietary one. The UK already has nearly three times more sugar than its population should be consuming, according to NHS guidelines. We need 0.75 million tonnes to stay within safe limits. What we actually have? A staggering 1.91 million tonnes. And about a quarter of that is imported raw cane sugar.1 

And where does all this sugar end up? Often in the diets of the most vulnerable. Children in deprived areas are consuming more sugar than those in wealthy communities. Black people and people of colour are far more likely to face sugar-linked health issues such as Type 2 Diabetes. And childhood tooth decay is hitting Asian, Black, and mixed-race children the hardest. 

That’s not the whole story, either. Over half of those sugar imports come from Brazil, where industrial-scale cane production wreaks havoc, from air pollution and deforestation to water depletion and labour abuses. 

So who does this policy actually benefit? Just one company: Tate & Lyle. The ATQ was introduced after the sugar giant lobbied hard – and it’s reportedly saving them up to a cool £72.8 million a year. 

If this government is serious about cutting sugar consumption in half and improving public health, it can’t just talk tough – it needs to act. That starts with putting a stop to cheap sugar imports. The ATQ must go. 

Sweet tooth or not, this is a bitter pill we can’t afford to swallow.