WASHINGTON, D.C. — Corteva Inc. will dismantle a pesticide loyalty program and face 10 years of restrictions on similar distributor incentives under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general aimed at opening more of the market to lower-cost generic crop-protection products.
The agreement resolves claims against Corteva in a 2022 lawsuit alleging the company used payments and other benefits to discourage distributors from buying generic versions of pesticides after Corteva patents expired.
Under the stipulated order, Corteva will be barred for 10 years from conditioning payments or other benefits on a distributor purchasing a high share of a pesticide active ingredient from the company or otherwise restricting purchases of generic equivalents.
The FTC alleged the practices limited generic competition and allowed Corteva to maintain higher pesticide prices, costing U.S. farmers millions of dollars more for crop-protection products.
“This settlement will do away with unfair corporate practices that have hurt farmers by impeding the sales of lower-priced products,” FTC Bureau of Competition Principal Deputy Director David Shaw said.
The agreement is intended to give distributors greater freedom to carry competing products once patent protection has expired, potentially increasing farmers’ access to lower-priced generic pesticides.
The underlying lawsuit also names Syngenta and makes similar allegations about that company’s post-patent loyalty program.
The Corteva settlement resolves only the claims against Corteva. Litigation against Syngenta remains pending.
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