Brazil responds to US report, denies that PIX favors companies and defends STF decisions

USA has not proven that Pix harms companies
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a document formalizing the Brazilian government's official response to the United States investigation that accuses Brazil of adopting practices that "encumber or restrict" trade with North Americans, and proposes an additional tariff of 25% on Brazilian products.
The letter is signed by Chancellor Mauro Vieira and was filed on Wednesday afternoon (1st).
In the text, the minister states that the American government's criticism of PIX and Brazilian court decisions are not related to trade, but to disagreements over internal policies.
The demonstration follows the same line of public speeches by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in defense of sovereignty, and what the PT member claims he has talked about with Trump in meetings between the two.
"Brazil's previous demonstrations demonstrated that the United States and Brazil maintain a solid and increasingly beneficial trade relationship, including a trade surplus of US goods with Brazil in 2024", highlights the minister.
"These demonstrations also established that, in practice, the tariff structure applied by Brazil is already highly favorable to North American exports", he continues.
Chancellor Mauro Vieira
Mateus Oliveira/MRE
What does the document say?
The document was sent to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), responsible for the investigation opened based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
This legislation allows the adoption of trade measures when a country considers that another government's practices are unfair and harm American companies.
But, in the demonstration, Brazil claims that this requirement has not been demonstrated. According to the government, the USTR has not proven that Brazilian acts, policies or practices are discriminatory or impose barriers to United States trade.
Throughout the document, the government maintains that the United States is using the investigation to question Brazil's sovereign choices, and not to address measures that effectively harm American trade. sovereign country", says the document, in English (free translation).
Throughout the text, it states: "In the six topics covered, the USTR identifies areas of divergence in public policies or, in some cases, ongoing internal challenges in Brazil. However, the USTR does not establish the required legal link between a concrete act, policy or practice in Brazil and an identifiable burden or restriction on United States trade."
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STF and social networks
The document is divided into thematic areas. In the chapter on digital commerce, the Brazilian government responds to criticisms of decisions by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) that determined the removal of content and the suspension of profiles on social networks.
The government states that these decisions were taken within the scope of regular judicial processes, related to electoral integrity, criminal investigations and the protection of fundamental rights.
Furthermore, it contests the assessment that the secrecy of these decisions would be a problem. According to the text, confidentiality is provided for in Brazilian legislation to protect investigations, privacy and other public interests, and the parties continue to have the right to due legal process.
The statement also says that the USTR did not present evidence that American companies receive different treatment from Brazilian companies or other foreign companies. For the government, the rules apply equally to all platforms operating in the country.
"The conduct highlighted by the USTR is not specifically directed at North American companies due to their origin, nor does the USTR identify any rule of Brazilian law that imposes a different liability regime for foreign or US-owned platforms", says the document.
The text continues: "Brazil's previous statements highlighted exactly that the applicable legal framework is, in its wording, neutral, It applies equally to national and foreign entities and does not create a liability regime specifically applicable to people, companies or the United States government itself." foreign.
In the report, the USTR says that the Central Bank favors PIX, an instant payment system, to the detriment of American providers. According to the USTR, the BC acts at the same time as a regulator and operator of the system, imposing its use and limiting the fees charged by competitors.
But the Brazilian government disputes this statement. It highlights that PIX is an open access public infrastructure, available under non-discriminatory conditions for companies that meet the participation requirements, regardless of the origin of capital.
The government also highlights that American companies already operate normally in the Pix ecosystem, citing Google Pay Brasil and Visa as examples, and argues that the system has increased competition, reduced costs and created new opportunities for banks, fintechs and technology companies.
Brazil also compares PIX to FedNow, an instant payments system operated by Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. According to the defense, the fact that a central bank operates a public payments infrastructure does not, in itself, constitute an unfair commercial practice.

Source: G1