Nine state ministers from the CDU and CSU have united in opposing the planned introduction of a consumption tax on sugary products. In a joint letter addressed to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, CDU Chief of Staff Nina Warken, and Union Parliamentary Leader Thorsten Frei, the ministers declared that their respective agrarian departments, which are led by the Union, reject the imposition of a sugar tax. According to reports from “Die Welt”, the letter was dated October 11th, which coincided with the CDU Presidium session beginning that Sunday.
The signatories include Michaela Kaniber, Bavarian State Minister for Agriculture (CSU), alongside other ministers from Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and a State Minister for Agriculture from Saxony.
In their statement, the nine Union ministers emphasized that a balanced diet with moderate sugar consumption is essential for preventing various health issues. They argued that there are multiple effective pathways to achieving greater sugar reduction, and that imposing a direct tax is not the right approach. Instead, they called for greater emphasis on nutritional education, personal responsibility, public awareness, and innovation.
The ministers highlighted that the existing coalition agreement places strong emphasis on “voluntariness, incentives, and personal responsibility” regarding nutrition, allowing consumers to make autonomous choices. They contended that a sugar tax forces state-led steering and unnecessarily burdens the purchase of specific foods, thus contradicting the direction agreed upon by the coalition.
Furthermore, the letter stressed the economic implications for agricultural businesses, noting that such an “intervention into the sugar market, resulting in lower returns, is unacceptable” during a time of rapidly rising costs for fertilizer and diesel. They added that beverage manufacturers would need to adjust their formulas, incurring significant economic overhead. Finally, they questioned whether the supposedly targeted successes in combating obesity could be clearly verified through such a tax.
The ministers referenced past decisions of the Christian democrats, noting that the CDU opposed the sugar tax during their Stuttgart party convention in February 2026, before the Union subsequently agreed upon such a levy together with the SPD.
