Meat giant JBS gets SEC approval to list shares in US

The SEC faced intense pressure to deny the world’s largest meat company from accessing the U.S. market due to its climate record and links to deforestation. Environmental groups argue a listing would allow JBS to increase its already vast carbon footprint.

JBS also has a history of misleading investors and consumers, critics argue, both on climate and corporate governance. The company was implicated in a corruption scandal that roiled Brazil’s political landscape. It also is facing a lawsuit in the U.S. for allegedly misleading consumers on its climate action plan.

“By almost every metric, a company like JBS has a detrimental impact on society,” Alexandria Reid, campaign lead at international NGO Global Witness, said in a statement. “Allowing it to list on the world’s largest stock exchange — unlocking vast opportunities for expansion and profit — shows the deep failures of the US financial regulatory system. This decision is a disaster for both people and the planet.”

JBS’ proposed listing also has sparked anticompetitive concerns among U.S. lawmakers.

Democratic lawmakers and former Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, now secretary of state under the Trump administration, told the SEC last year that JBS’ listing could strengthen the company’s market position and “further entrench its monopoly power.”