{"id":44961,"date":"2026-02-22T03:45:05","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T03:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=44961"},"modified":"2026-02-22T03:45:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T03:45:05","slug":"trump-order-seeks-to-protect-weedkiller-at-center-of-barrage-of-lawsuits-pesticides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=44961","title":{"rendered":"Trump order seeks to protect weedkiller at center of barrage of lawsuits | Pesticides"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Donald Trump has signed an executive order protecting production of glyphosate-based herbicides, such as Roundup, which some bodies and studies have linked to cancer and which are the subject of widespread US litigation.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s move, which also seeks to provide \u201cimmunity\u201d for makers of the herbicides, was strongly criticized by health and environmental advocates including some figures in the \u201cMake America healthy again\u201d (Maha) coalition.<\/p>\n

The order also protects domestic production of phosphorus, which is used in making glyphosate and other agricultural chemicals, as well as a range of other products, including some in military defense.<\/p>\n

Ensuring \u201crobust domestic elemental phosphorus mining and United States-based production of glyphosate-based herbicides is central to American economic and national security\u201d, the order states.<\/p>\n

The 18 February order cites authority under the Defense Production Act and instructs US Department of Agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins to issue orders and regulations as \u201cmay be necessary to implement this order\u201d.<\/p>\n

The White House said \u201cthe threat of reduced or ceased production\u201d of phosphorous and glyphosate herbicides \u201cgravely endangers national security and defense, which includes food-supply security\u201d.<\/p>\n

Neither the executive order nor the fact sheet the White House put out accompanying the order discloses that glyphosate-based herbicides have been linked to an array of cancers and other health problems in multiple independent research studies and by cancer experts of the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/p>\n

The move by the White House comes as Roundup maker Bayer is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging the company\u2019s glyphosate herbicides cause cancer and the company failed to warn farmers and other users of the risks.<\/p>\n

The company, which inherited the litigation when it bought Monsanto in 2018, has already paid out billions of dollars in settlements and jury verdicts and said this week it was proposing to pay $7.25bn in a class action settlement to try to head off future lawsuits.<\/p>\n

Bayer has said that if it cannot find relief from the litigation, it may stop making glyphosate herbicides for the US agricultural market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis executive order reads like it was drafted in a chemical company boardroom,\u201d said Vani Hari, a food activist, author and one of the grass roots leaders of the Maha coalition. \u201cCalling it \u2018national defense\u2019 while expanding protections for toxic products is a dangerous misdirection. Real national security is protecting American families, farmers, and children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Ryerson, another key actor in the Maha movement who has been lobbying US regulators and lawmakers for restrictions on glyphosate and other pesticides, said the move by Trump is an insult to those who have largely supported the administration because of promises that Maha issues would be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was appointed by Trump as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and who heads a Maha commission set up by the White House, has a long history of criticizing glyphosate and its maker over the health harms tied to the herbicide. Both Trump and Kennedy had pledged to address health concerns about glyphosate and other pesticides.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President is making a mockery of the very voters who put his administration into office,\u201d Ryerson said. \u201cExpanding the production of glyphosate, a pesticide derided by the Maha movement, is a commitment to perpetuating the toxic, chemical food system that has created a sick and infertile American population.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to questions about the executive order, Kennedy issued a statement saying that the order \u201cputs America first where it matters most \u2013 our defense readiness and our food supply\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lori Ann Burd, environmental health program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, called the executive order \u201ca sickening love letter from Trump to the largest pesticide companies in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more proof that Trump doesn\u2019t care at all about Americans\u2019 health,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile he\u2019s pandering to chemical companies the rest of the country, especially those who\u2019ve been poisoned by pesticides, is rightfully asking \u2018what about us?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s order contains a clause that \u201cconfers all immunity provided for in section 707 of the Act (50 U.S.C. 4557)\u201d and states that \u201cdomestic producers of elemental phosphorus and glyphosate-based herbicides are required to comply with this order.\u201d The act cited states that \u201cno person shall be held liable\u201d for \u201cany act\u201d resulting from compliance with an order issued pursuant to that law.<\/p>\n

Bayer did not respond when asked how involved the company was in Trump\u2019s executive order. But the company issued a statement saying: \u201cPresident Trump\u2019s Executive Order reinforces the critical need for US farmers to have access to essential, domestically produced crop protection tools such as glyphosate. We will comply with this order to produce glyphosate and elemental phosphorus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bayer maintains that its glyphosate herbicides do not cause cancer and has been engaged in an array of tactics to try to lift the litigation pressure, including pressing Congress for language in the farm bill and other legislation that would restrict the ability of people to sue the company for failing to warn of cancer risks if the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn\u2019t require such warnings.<\/p>\n

The company has already succeeded in getting laws protecting it from lawsuits passed in two states and is pressing for more state laws. It has also asked the US supreme court to rule in its favor on the issue of federal preemption of failure-to-warn lawsuits, and the high court has set a hearing for 27 April.<\/p>\n