LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Even with change in administration, the Federal Trade Commission and 12 state attorneys general are moving forward on a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration in 2022, alleging pesticide manufacturers Syngenta Crop Protection and Corteva Inc. paid distributors to block competitors from selling less-expensive generic products to farmers.

Since the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, there's been a back and forth on case discovery that is getting closer to wrapping up.

The original complaint alleged the companies run so-called "loyalty programs" in which distributors are paid only if they limit business with competing manufacturers. The FTC was joined in the complaint by attorneys general in California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. Since the original complaint, attorneys general from Tennessee and Washington joined the lawsuit.

The court set a deadline to complete discovery for Nov. 21, 2025.

The plaintiffs asked for a myriad of documents from Syngenta Crop Protection AG, Syngenta Corporation and Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC related to their crop protection products.

That includes:

-- Loyalty programs and exclusivity conditions.

-- Sales and pricing data from 2002 to the present.

-- Communications and agreements with distributors, retailers and competitors.

-- Internal analysis on the effects of loyalty programs on competition, pricing and profitability.

-- Legal documents related to litigation and investigations.

-- Technical data about product formulations, manufacturing processes and regulatory registrations.

In a joint status report filed with the court at the end of March, all sides cancelled an April 4 status conference because there were no outstanding discovery disputes for the court to resolve.

"Government and MDL plaintiffs are in the process of analyzing and reviewing defendants' document productions and responses to plaintiffs' written discovery requests and intend to meet and confer with defendants concerning any deficiencies with respect thereto in the near future," the status report said.

Syngenta and Corteva are two of the largest pesticide manufacturers operating in the United States. Syngenta, based in Switzerland, is a subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned company. Corteva, headquartered in Indianapolis, is the company formed as part of a merger between DuPont and Dow Chemical Company.

The complaint alleges Syngenta and Corteva take "illegal" steps to stop generic pesticides from eating into their profits. The loyalty programs include making payments to distributors -- if the distributors keep their purchases of competing generic pesticides beneath a certain threshold.

In a 2022 news release, the FTC said the companies were "boxing out the competition" which allows them to "keep charging such high prices that, even after compensating the distributors, they can maintain a large profit margin."

The FTC alleges the distributors pass high prices on to farmers and ultimately to consumers.

The FTC said when a company creates a new pesticide it can patent the invention and prevent others from selling the pesticide for 20 years.

"Ordinarily, when the patent expires, generic versions of the product enter the market to compete with the original brand-name version," FTC said. "The arrival of generics pushes prices down. Instead of one company wielding a monopoly over a new product, many manufacturers can compete for farmers' business."

Syngenta told DTN at the time that it "strongly disagrees with the FTC's complaint" and believes it is "contrary to the facts and the law and is without merit."

Corteva said in a statement that the company believes there is "no basis" for the complaint and that the FTC's case "faces significant hurdles on both the facts and the law."

"Corteva's marketing programs, contrary to the FTC's assertion that they block generics from entering the market, facilitate the company's pro-competitive mission of providing innovative products, services, support and stewardship to customers through Corteva's network of distributors and retailers," the company said.

The FTC said the complaint was part of a "broader push to unlock competition and innovation in the American economy" as well as to "protect consumers and small businesses and crack down on unfair tactics by dominant companies."

The complaint targets six crop-protection active ingredients including azoxystrobin, a fungicide; and mesotrione and metolachlor, both herbicides. It also lists the herbicide rimsulfuron and the insecticide and nematicide oxamyl, as well as the herbicide acetochlor.

Read more on DTN:

"Syngenta, Corteva Sued by FTC, States," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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