North Dakota enacts nation's first law shielding Roundup's maker from
some cancer lawsuits
[April 25, 2025] By
DAVID A. LIEB
A new first-of-its-kind law enacted in North Dakota could shield
agrochemical manufacturer Bayer from lawsuits claiming it failed to warn
customers that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer.
Though the immediate effect may be small, given that North Dakota is
among the least populated U.S. states, Bayer is hopeful that success
there could lead to similar laws being passed around the country. The
company faces an onslaught of lawsuits seeking billions of dollars for
alleged harm from Roundup. The next state to follow North Dakota could
be Georgia, where a similar bill is pending before Gov. Brian Kemp.
Bayer, based in Germany, acquired Roundup with the 2018 purchase of St.
Louis-based Monsanto. It contends glyphosate, an active ingredient in
Roundup, has for decades provided a safe and efficient way to control
weeds with less tilling, which helps prevent soil erosion. For crops
such as corn, soybeans and cotton, Roundup is designed to work with
genetically modified seeds that resist glyphosate’s deadly effect.
“Without crop protection tools, America’s consumers could face higher
costs to provide for their families and put food on the table,” Brian
Naber, Bayer’s president of crop science for North America, Australia
and New Zealand, said in a statement praising the North Dakota law.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong declined to comment Thursday about the
legislation, which he signed without fanfare a day earlier.

Bayer has been hit with about 181,000 legal claims alleging that
Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Though some studies associate glyphosate with cancer, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has said it is not likely to be
carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.
Bayer, which disputes the cancer claims, has teamed with a coalition of
agricultural groups to back legislation in at least 11 states this year
seeking to undercut the main argument made in the lawsuits. The bills
declare that a federally approved label on pesticides is sufficient to
satisfy any duty under state law to warn customers. Bayer also has asked
the U.S. Supreme Court to block the legal claims.
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North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong signs a bill on
Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D.
(AP Photo/Jack Dura Jack)
 Many agricultural industry groups
contend glyphosate is an essential tool for farmers. They're
concerned that mounting legal costs could lead Bayer to pull the
product from the U.S. market.
The North Dakota law, which will take effect Aug. 1, “is a
resounding win for farmers” and “sets the standard for states across
America to pass legislation," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson,
executive director of the Modern Ag Alliance, which Bayer helps
finance.
Though prompted by lawsuits against Bayer, the North Dakota
legislation would apply more broadly to other pesticides with
federally approved labels.
“Ultimately, this sets a bad precedent,” said Sam Wagner, an
agriculture and food organizer for the Dakota Resource Council,
which opposed the measure. "It will arguably make it extremely tough
for anyone to win a case” filed in North Dakota against a pesticide
manufacturer.
As President Donald Trump's administration seeks to rollback federal
regulations, new state laws that limit court claims could leave some
people without any avenue to seek compensation for their injuries
and losses, said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond
Pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for an
end to toxic pesticides.
“The chemical companies should not be able to hide behind a weak
regulatory system," Feldman said.
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