Why Trump Backs Bayer in Roundup Weedkiller Cancer Battle

The long-running legal fight over Bayer’s weedkiller Roundup has seen nearly 200,000 cancer claims filed in US courts over the past seven years and is now being turned into a political tug of war.

In prior Roundup lawsuits, the US Justice Department under former President Joe Biden, had argued that consumers should be allowed to pursue damages against Germany’s chemical giant, with most claims involving non‑Hodgkin lymphoma after long-term exposure to the pesticide.

Earlier this month, however, President Donald Trump’s administration reversed course. After the US Supreme Court sought the Solicitor General’s view, the Justice Department sided with Bayer and urged limits on the tens of thousands of outstanding claims.

Bayer has already paid out around $10 billion (€8.53 billion) to settle disputed cancer claims in the US. In July, the firm said it would set aside a further €1.2 billion ($1.41 billion), much of it for compensation.

Bayer acquired Roundup in 2018 as part of its $63 billion purchase of Monsanto, the US agribusiness giant best known for genetically modified seeds and controversial agrochemicals.