http://michiganradio.org/post/farmers-group-asks-president-trump-block-dow-dupont-merger
Farmers' group asks President Trump to block Dow-DuPont merger
By Steve Carmody & The Associated Press • Apr 2, 2017
A national group representing America’s farmers is renewing its call on the Trump administration to block the proposed merger of Midland-based Dow Chemical and DuPont.
Rob Larew is with the National Farmers Union. He says the deal is not a good one for America’s farmers.
“Our nearly 200,000 farmers across the country are not in favor of mega mergers like this which will put farmers at a disadvantage,” says Larew.
Larew worries consolidation in the agri-chemical industry will mean less competition and higher prices on seeds and other products.
In addition to the U.S., regulators in China, Brazil and possibly India, also still need to weigh in on the merger.
Meanwhile, DuPont and Dow have once again postponed their proposed merger, saying they expect the deal to close in August.
The chemical giants' merger has already been pushed back several times, as regulatory agencies in the U.S. and abroad scrutinize the deal. When DuPont and Dow announced the merger in December of 2015, they expected it to close in the first half of 2016.
The latest delay comes as DuPont finalizes the sale of its crop protection business to FMC Corp. to meet European Commission requirements. The European Union approved the deal last week, but it remains under review in the U.S.
Once merged, DuPont and Dow plan to spin off into three public companies, one focused on agriculture, one on material science, and one on specialty products.
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