Farmers would suffer if the U.S. government granted a petition to place anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports of the herbicide 2,4-D. The president of the National Corn Growers Association testified about that before the International Trade Commission.
“First, 2,4-D is a growth regulator that targets broadleaf weeds that cause significant harm to corn and has minimal effect on grasses,” said NCGA President Ken Hartman, Jr. “This makes it useful for corn, which is a grass, because it kills the weeds but not the corn plants.”
The American Soybean Association points out that because dicamba is no longer available as a key herbicide for soybeans, which means their farmers need a reliable supply of herbicides like 2,4-D now more than ever.
“New import duties on 2,4-D would make things even harder, further disrupting our access to reliable herbicide tools in our toolboxes,” says ASA President and Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland.
