10 March 2025, US: Bayer has warned U.S. lawmakers that it may stop selling its Roundup weedkiller unless stronger legal protections are established to shield the company from product liability lawsuits, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The German agrochemical giant has already paid around $10 billion to settle claims alleging that glyphosate-based Roundup causes cancer. Despite these settlements, approximately 67,000 additional cases remain unresolved, for which Bayer has allocated $5.9 billion in legal provisions.
Bayer argues that plaintiffs should not be able to sue under U.S. state laws, given that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has repeatedly deemed Roundup safe for use. Regulators in other countries have also supported this stance.
“Without regulatory clarity, Bayer will need to exit the business. The company has made this clear to legislators and farmer groups,” analysts at a brokerage firm stated in a note, citing discussions with Bayer’s leadership.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup as part of its $63 billion takeover of Monsanto in 2018, stated, “We are exploring every possibility to end this litigation,” but declined to provide further comments.
For the first time, Bayer disclosed its glyphosate sales figures, revealing that the product, widely used in U.S. agriculture, generated €2.6 billion ($2.8 billion) in revenue last year.
A source familiar with the situation said that “Bayer could reach a point where it is forced to discontinue Roundup sales in the U.S.,” requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
As part of its fourth-quarter earnings report, Bayer said it aims to “significantly contain” litigation by 2026. The company has been actively working with farmers’ associations to lobby both federal and state legislators. It is also preparing to petition the U.S. Supreme Court again for legal protection, following an unsuccessful attempt in 2022.
While Bayer has previously replaced glyphosate in U.S. consumer products with alternative weedkilling substances, it has not explicitly threatened to withdraw Roundup from the U.S. agricultural market—until now.
One of the world’s leading seeds and pesticides manufacturers, Bayer competes with other major agrochemical companies. It remains the sole glyphosate producer in the U.S., though American farmers also import cheaper generic glyphosate from China to use with herbicide-resistant soybean and corn crops.
The ongoing glyphosate-related litigation, inherited from Monsanto, has significantly impacted Bayer’s stock value. Other challenges, including a drug development setback in 2023 and a weaker agricultural market, have also contributed to its struggles.
Bayer announced that it would internally separate its glyphosate business from the broader Crop Protection division. When asked in an analyst call whether the company might sell the glyphosate unit, a senior executive responded, “We’re going to continue evaluating all alternatives for the business. That’s always what we do.”
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