JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.

By DAVID A. LIEBAssociated Press

Bayer has agreed to a proposed $7.25 billion deal to settle thousands of U.S. lawsuits that blame Roundup for causing cancer. Bayer and lawyers for cancer patients announced Tuesday that they were filing the proposed settlement in St. Louis. It comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear Bayer’s argument about federal rules and warning labels for the popular weedkiller. That separate case will continue. Bayer says Roundup’s key ingredient of glyphosate does not cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But the company says legal costs have threatened Roundup sales in U.S. farming markets. Bayer bought Monsanto, the original Roundup maker, in 2018.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Agrochemical maker Bayer and attorneys for cancer patients announced a proposed $7.25 billion settlement Tuesday to resolve thousands of U.S. lawsuits alleging the company failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer.

The proposed settlement comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear arguments on Bayer's assertion that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of Roundup without a cancer warning should invalidate claims filed in state courts. That case would not be affected by the proposed settlement.

But the settlement would eliminate some of the risk from an eventual and uncertain Supreme Court ruling — both for Bayer and for patients seeking damages.

Germany-based Bayer, which acquired Roundup maker Monsanto in 2018, disputes the assertion that the weedkiller's key ingredient, glyphosate, can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But the company has warned that mounting legal costs are threatening its ability to continue selling the product in U.S. agricultural markets.

“Litigation uncertainly has plagued the company for years, and this settlement gives the company a road to closure,” Bayer CEO Bill Anderson said Tuesday.

The proposed settlement was filed in St. Louis Circuit Court in Missouri, home to Bayer's North America crop science division and the state where many of the lawsuits have been brought. The settlement still needs the court's approval.