The US Environmental Protection Agency has committed to decide by 30 April 2027 whether to revoke food tolerances for five widely used neonicotinoid insecticides, under a proposed settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council made public on 20 August, Global Agriculture reports.

The five are acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam, the backbone of US neonicotinoid seed treatments and sprays sold under names including Admire Pro, Actara, Poncho, Gaucho and Cruiser and used on corn, soybeans, cotton, fruit, vegetables and ornamentals.

NRDC petitioned the EPA in May 2020 to revoke all food tolerances, citing risks to human health and pollinators, and sued for unreasonable delay when the agency did not respond. The settlement sets a deadline without committing the EPA to any outcome; the agency says it is not proposing revocation now.

The public comment period closed on 21 September, after which the EPA can finalise the agreement with the court, and the parties will ask to keep the litigation on hold while the agency works toward the deadline.

Growers and seed companies therefore have about a year and a half of certainty before a decision that could, if tolerances are revoked or restricted, affect seed-treatment programmes on most US corn and much of its soybean acreage, and trade in treated commodities.

Source: Global Agriculture