Farmers, agribusiness and mining companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, bringing the total number of US farmers and their financial institutions to more than 1.2 million.
A total of 1.3 million Americans have filed Chapter 11 filings in the last six months, the largest number in the United States in the past five years, according to the latest filing data from the bankruptcy court.
The number of Americans filing Chapter 11 for the first time is higher than the total for the same period last year, according the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade association for business owners.
The filing of Chapter 11s for the second time in three months comes as the Trump administration seeks to roll back many of the environmental regulations put in place by former President Barack Obama, including a mandate to label food with genetically modified ingredients and to require food manufacturers to label ingredients.
“This is the second bankruptcy filing of a US company in the space of three months, and we expect that trend will continue in coming months,” said Andrew Hennessey, a partner with Hennesseys & Co. in San Francisco, which represents several U.S. farmers and other financial institutions.
The bankruptcy filing for US agricultural giant Syngenta Corp. was filed in February by more than 5,000 U.K.-based farmers and a group of other creditors, including the US Department of Agriculture.
Syngua’s debt load includes nearly $100 billion in loans and debt service, according, according.
The company said the bankruptcy filing was required by the US Treasury to protect its U.A.E. business and to resolve outstanding issues related to certain litigation, including litigation arising from the alleged fraud committed by Syngatan and its former business partner, Valeant Pharmaceuticals NV, according a statement.
The case is pending in the U.N. court in New York.
Syngenta is the third U.s. company to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection this year, following the bankruptcy of General Electric Co. and General Motors Co.
The filing of the bankruptcy filings follows a similar filing by Monsanto Co. earlier this month.
The company is the first major agricultural company to seek bankruptcy protection.
The bankruptcy filing represents a further escalation of the fight over the Trump agenda, which has drawn condemnation from many U.k. politicians and business leaders, including members of the U,S.
House of Commons.
The Trump administration has been working to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and other Obama-era regulations.
In the latest filings, U.B.C. said the company has a cash balance of more than $1.4 billion and owes about $1 billion in creditors.
The lender also said Syngtan has an outstanding $3.6 billion in unpaid principal and interest on its debt, according with a filing by the bankruptcy trustee.
The bank said Syntech is not receiving any of the proceeds from Synganta’s IPO, the filing showed.
