1.Monsanto a Focus of US Antitrust Investigation
2.Monsanto Says Justice Raises Antitrust Questions
3.U.S. seeks information from Monsanto
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1.Monsanto a Focus of US Antitrust Investigation
CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
Associated Press, October 8 2009 [shortened]
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=8784859

*Monsanto is a focus of Justice Department antitrust investigation of US seed industry

ST. LOUIS - The Justice Department is investigating whether Monsanto Co. violated antitrust rules in trying to expand its dominance of the market for genetically engineered crops.

Monsanto has provided interviews and documents to the Justice Department, company spokesman Lee Quarles said. He said the department has questioned Monsanto about its marketing tactics in the biotech seed industry, which have become a target of criticism.

Quarles said Monsanto has done nothing illegal and is cooperating with the department.

"We definitely stand behind our business," he said.

At issue is how the world's largest seed company sells and licenses its patented genes. Monsanto has licensing agreements with seed companies that let those companies insert Monsanto genes into about 96 percent of U.S. soybean crops and 80 percent of all corn crops.

Monsanto's rivals allege that the company uses the licensing agreements to squeeze competitors and control smaller seed companies ”” an allegation Monsanto denies.

The inquiry into St. Louis-based Monsanto is part of a previously announced Justice Department investigation of consolidation in the seed industry.
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2.Monsanto Says Justice Raises Antitrust Questions
Lauren Etter
Wall Street Journal, 9 October 2009:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704882404574461671425452270.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLTopStories

Monsanto Co. said Thursday that it has received requests from the U.S. Department of Justice "in recent months" over whether or not the seed giant has violated antitrust laws.

The inquiries at the St. Louis-based company, the biggest maker of genetically modified seeds, come as the Justice Department says it plans to scrutinize competition in many sectors of the agriculture industry, including seeds, dairy and meat. In August, the Department of Agriculture and the Justice Department held the first of what is to be a series of workshops across the country to explore competition issues in the agriculture industry.

Christine Varney, chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division, said recently that "competition issues affecting agriculture have been a priority for me."

A Monsanto spokesman characterized the nature of the Justice Department's questions as "business as usual" and "similar to the requests we've received from time to time over the last few years."

A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

In 2007 the Justice Department allowed Monsanto to purchase rival Delta & Pine Land Co. That acquisition generated controversy at the time among farmers who claimed that the deal would give Monsanto too much power in the marketplace.

The Justice Department required that Monsanto divest itself of its U.S. branded cottonseed business in order to win approval for the deal. Without such divestitures, the Justice Department said at the time that the deal would have resulted in higher prices to farmersand would have prevented technological developments in the cottonseed market.

Opponents have been prodding the Obama administration's Justice Department to re-evaluate the deal and other mergers approved under the Bush administration. For example, some farmers have been asking the Justice Department to review a merger of the nation's two biggest dairy processors approved in 2001.

The Monsanto spokesman said the types of questions asked by the Justice Department mainly centered around recent litigation involving competitor DuPont Co. A DuPont spokesman said the company has been contacted by the Justice Department regarding Monsanto and that it "will cooperate" with the agency.

In May, Monsanto filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Dupont, which is aimed at forcing DuPont to dismantle a herbicide-resistant soybean plant that Dupont hopes to begin selling to farmers soon.

DuPont filed a counterclaim that alleges Monsanto has waged an anti-competitive campaign to win market share. Among other things, Dupont claims that Monsanto denies competitors the ability to combine proprietary technology with Monsanto's existing technology.
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3.U.S. seeks information from Monsanto
Jeffrey Tomich
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9 October 2009
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/F8FECB0CF5402F588625764A000B8283?OpenDocument

The Justice Department is seeking information from seed giant Monsanto Co. regarding the company's dominance in the market for genetically modified seed, a company spokesman said Thursday.

Spokesman Lee Quarles declined to discuss specifics of the inquiry, including what information is being sought. Creve Coeur-based Monsanto is complying with the request for information, which was received about two months ago, he said.

"We're cooperating and openly providing documents to respond to all of these questions," Quarles said.

Monsanto categorized the request from Justice Department as an informal inquiry, not a formal demand for information.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona wouldn't confirm the inquiry and declined further comment.

The timing of the Justice Department's questions coincides with plans announced Aug. 5 by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for a nationwide series of workshops to be held next year to hear farmers concerns about competition issues affecting the agriculture industry.

Two days after that announcement, Philip Weiser, a deputy assistant attorney general, said during a speech in St. Louis that the Justice Department was committed to examining competition in agriculture, including the sale of genetically modified seed.

"Farmers today increasingly turn to patented biotechnology that is used to produce seeds resistant to herbicides and insects," he said in the speech. "At the same time, this technological revolution and accompanying market developments have facilitated the emergence of large firms that produce these products, along with challenges for new firms to enter this market.

This isn't the first time antitrust investigators have sought information from Monsanto.

In 2007, the Justice Department required Monsanto and Delta & Pine Land Co. to divest a seed company, cottonseed lines and other assets before allowing them to merge.

Monsanto was also required to amend terms of its trait license agreements with other cottonseed companies to allow them to stack, or combine, non-Monsanto traits with Monsanto traits.

The company is in the midst of a legal battle with its chief rival, DuPont, the parent of Iowa-based Pioneer Hy-Bred International Inc., which has claimed Monsanto is engaging in anti-competitive behavior by not allowing it to stack its own herbicide tolerance trait with Monsanto's Roundup Ready trait.

Monsanto, which initiated the lawsuit, claims DuPont's efforts to tack the traits constitute patent infringement.

Meanwhile, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has begun an inquiry into possible antitrust violations by Monsanto. Monsanto said it will respond to the civil investigative demand by providing information on its seed, trait and chemistry licensing and marketing programs to Miller's office.

Miller's office said in a written statement Thursday that it is seeking information on the business practices of Monsanto.

Quarles said it's not uncommon for regulators to initiate an inquiry whenever a rival alleges anti-competitive behavior.

"Anytime a company would make an antitrust allegation against one of its competitors, I think the agency would find it prudent to explore and ask questions," Quarles said.