U.S. EPA allows Bayer to sell its Dicamba-based weed killer until 2025

On Tuesday, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would allow farmers to spray crops with weed killers made by Bayer AG (BAYGn.DE) and other companies.

In June, the U.S. Courts of Appeals (COA) suspended Bayer’s operations. The court blocked Bayer’s company sales after the government agency discovered that its weed killers were based on Dicamba chemical.

According to EPA’s Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the agency would implement new restrictions on Dicamba products that could “take care of the drift issues that we have witnessed in the past.” He also said that the EPA reapproved BASF SE’s (BASFn.DE) Dicamba herbicide Engenia and extended approval for Syngenta’s Tavium.

Political experts said that EPA’s decision invalidates the court’s ruling.

“Rather than evaluating the significant costs of dicamba drift as the 9th Circuit told them the law required, EPA rushed re-approval as a political prop just before the election,” U.S. Center for Food Safety’s Legal Director George Kimbrell stated.