The U.S. environmental inspection agency EPA has concluded in an interim report on three types of neonicotinoids that these seed coatings “likely adversely affect” the habitats of thousands of endangered plant and animal species. A potential ban could have major consequences for American agriculture.
The herbicides in question are imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam, which are widely used in the cultivation of soybeans, sugar beets, corn, wheat, and cottonseed. Neonicotinoids are applied on hundreds of millions of hectares of American farmland.
The EPA long refused to evaluate the approval of chemical agents according to international treaties protecting endangered species ('red list'), but was recently compelled to do so by legal actions.
All pesticides in the United States must undergo these screenings, but the EPA has only just started. In January 2020, the EPA granted interim registration permits for all three neonicotinoids, which have only been finalized after possibly additional safety measures. Recently, the U.S. agency released its assessment of glyphosate, with further usage requirements now awaited.
In the European Union, the use of these three neonicotinoids has been subjected to stricter regulations since 2018, and a complete ban on glyphosate is imminent. EU countries have the right to prohibit or allow use of crop protection agents, provided they follow existing EU procedures.
Recently, France also granted temporary restricted exemptions for the use of neonicotinoids. Meanwhile, sixteen EU countries have now used a loophole to bypass the ban.
The Dutch House of Representatives believes the Dutch cabinet should enter into talks with the agricultural sector to find a workable alternative to using neonicotinoids. Beet farmers in the Netherlands currently use other agents to protect their crops, but those sometimes exert even higher environmental pressure.