FTC, States Win Protections to Lower Pesticide Prices for American Farmers in Antitrust Case Against Corteva

The Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general have secured a significant settlement agreement with pesticide manufacturing giant Corteva Inc. that will lead to lower pesticide prices for American farmers. 

Under the terms of the settlement, Corteva will dismantle its existing pesticides loyalty program, which has limited distributors’ ability to do business with generic competitors that seek to enter the market after Corteva patents have expired. The settlement agreement will provide relief to farmers who have long endured high pesticide prices by ensuring greater access to lower-cost generic pesticide products. 

“This settlement will do away with unfair corporate practices that have hurt farmers by impeding the sales of lower-priced products,” said FTC Bureau of Competition Principal Deputy Director David Shaw. “The agreement the FTC and its state partners secured will give farmers better pesticide options at lower prices, enabling farmers to continue to put food on Americans’ tables.” 

For a period of 10 years, the stipulated order will prohibit Corteva from conditioning payments or other benefits to a distributor on that firm purchasing a high share of a given pesticide active ingredient from Corteva or similarly limiting its purchases of generic equivalents.

The settlement reached with Corteva resolves a lawsuit brought by the FTC and states in 2022, which alleges that Corteva implemented a post-patent loyalty program that paid distributors to block competitors from selling cheaper generic products to farmers. According to the complaint, this conduct allowed Corteva to maintain elevated prices, forcing American farmers to spend millions of dollars more for essential crop protection products. The complaint makes similar allegations as to Syngenta—another pesticide manufacturing giant—and its post-patent loyalty program.