Chemical giant Bayer is willing to pay up to $ 8 billion to reach a settlement in thousands of US lawsuits for the Roundup weed killer. The Bloomberg news agency reports this based on insiders. In total, more than 18,000 lawsuits are pending in the United States for Roundup, brought by people who claim to have had cancer from the weed killer. Bayer, who received the pesticide through the acquisition of Monsanto, previously appointed a special mediator to steer negotiations between the two camps in the right direction. The most interesting fact is that there is no scientific and independent data on real harm of the Roundup herbicide. Court do not need any data to proceed with the case. The negotiations are currently taking place in New York, sources say. Bayer would have proposed a total amount for settlements of between $ 6 billion and $ 8 billion. Lawyers from former Roundup users allegedly think that this is not enough and demand more than 10 billion dollars. An important point of contention is the amount that must be released for compensation of Roundup users for whom cancer is yet to be diagnosed. A final agreement may therefore take months to come. However, the talks are said to have progressed so far that both parties have requested postponement of lawsuits that will shortly commence in St. Louis. Bayer has already been sanctioned in previous lawsuits around Roundup to pay millions of dollars in damages. So far the company has always maintained that agent is safe for use.
