Brazil faces glyphosate ban as Bayer pushes US tariffs

Brazilian federal prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the health regulator Anvisa and the federal government seeking a total ban on the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. The complaint asks a court to prohibit registration, production, import, export, sale and use of glyphosate and its derivatives. Anvisa reaffirmed glyphosate’s approval in 2020 with certain restrictions. If enforced, the ban could reshape Brazil’s vast soybean, corn and cotton sectors and reverberate through the global herbicide market.

In the United States, Bayer – the owner of the former Monsanto Roundup business – has asked the U.S. Trade Representative and the International Trade Commission to levy anti‑dumping and countervailing duties on glyphosate imported from China, arguing the product is being sold at artificially low prices. Bayer claims it is the sole U.S. producer of glyphosate and that tariffs would level the market, while U.S. corn and soybean growers warn of higher input costs. The petition follows a recent Supreme Court decision that limited state lawsuits against Bayer over glyphosate.

"The market for glyphosate as it stands today is not sustainable," Bayer said in a statement.