WASHINGTON — Bayer AG is facing sharp backlash from American farm organizations after filing petitions for antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese-made glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, a move that comes just five days after agricultural groups helped the company win a critical Supreme Court case.
The petitions, filed by Bayer subsidiary Monsanto and affiliate Ruveon LLC with the Commerce Department and U.S. International Trade Commission, seek duties ranging from 68.9% to 446.47% on imported Chinese glyphosate. Bayer claims Chinese producers are selling the chemical in the U.S. market at prices below fair value, a practice known as dumping.
Trade Action Follows Legal Victory
The timing is drawing fire from commodity groups that had rallied behind Bayer's defense of Roundup. Twelve agricultural organizations, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers Association, American Soybean Association, and National Association of Wheat Growers, filed an amicus brief supporting Bayer at the Supreme Court, warning that a loss in the case could jeopardize farmer access to a chemical they described as central to modern weed control.
National Corn Growers Association president Jed Bower called Bayer's subsequent tariff request "no act of partnership," telling trade outlet DTN the move was "purely for the benefit of the company and its shareholders."
"We went to bat for them for so long in those court cases," Bower said. "And then they literally win the case and just completely blow us off in one of our worst crises."
$6.9 Billion in Existing Tariff Costs
The U.S. agricultural sector is already absorbing significant financial pressure from existing duties. A Texas A&M study found that tariffs of the type Bayer is now seeking cost crop growers $6.9 billion from 2021 to 2025. Bayer remains the only company manufacturing glyphosate domestically, supplying roughly 60% of the U.S. market, though a substantial share of American glyphosate consumption relies on Chinese imports.
Sam Kieffer, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers, warned that tariffs on imported glyphosate "will be felt by American farmers" already facing high input costs and weak commodity prices. The American Soybean Association told Fortune that new duties would "limit market competition, threaten cost spikes" for domestic producers.
A Bayer spokesperson told Fortune the action is "needed to support long-term U.S. production for American farmers," claiming the domestic glyphosate business "as it stands today is not sustainable." The Commerce Department has not commented on the petitions.