{"id":997352,"date":"2026-08-13T03:33:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997352\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T03:33:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T03:33:24","slug":"brazils-supreme-court-backs-state-laws-denying-tax-incentives-for-amazon-soy-moratorium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/997352\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazil’s Supreme Court backs state laws denying tax incentives for Amazon soy moratorium"},"content":{"rendered":"

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) \u2014 Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court<\/a> on Wednesday dealt a major blow to the future of the country\u2019s soy moratorium, upholding state laws that deny tax incentives to farmers who complied with the agreement barring the purchase of soy grown on deforested Amazon land. At the same time, the court affirmed the constitutionality of the voluntary pact.<\/p>\n

In January, major grain traders withdrew from the soy moratorium<\/a>, which helped slash deforestation over its nearly two decades in effect, after top soy-producing states passed bills revoking tax benefits for participating companies.<\/p>\n

Brazil<\/a> is the world\u2019s largest soybean producer, accounting for about 40% of global output. Much of the crop is grown in central and northern states that include parts of the Amazon biome, such as Mato Grosso, Para and Rondonia.<\/p>\n

The Amazon, the world\u2019s largest rainforest, plays a critical role in regulating the climate far beyond South America. Scientists warn that forest loss could accelerate global warming and disrupt agriculture as far away as the U.S. Midwest and parts of Europe.<\/p>\n

The South American country produced 171.5 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2024-25 season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. China was the top destination for exports, according to Brazil\u2019s official trade data.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2006 as a response to pressure from environmental groups and international buyers, the moratorium was a voluntary commitment rather than law. Major soy traders agreed \u2014 and the Brazilian government later endorsed \u2014 a ban on purchasing soy grown on Amazon land cleared after July 2008.<\/p>\n

But soy producers long argued that the moratorium hurt business because it was stricter than Brazilian environmental law. Under national rules, farmers in the Amazon must preserve 80% of their land and may legally clear the remaining 20%, while the moratorium bans any deforestation, even when permitted by law.<\/p>\n

The soy moratorium helped reduce deforestation in risk areas by 35% in the first decade since it became effective in 2006 without hurting productivity, according to a study published July in the journal Science. The end of the pact could drive up to 1.4 million hectares (3.5 million acres) of deforestation in the next decade and leave an area the size of Portugal vulnerable to legal deforestation, the study said.<\/p>\n

After reaching record levels in the 1990s and 2000s, deforestation declined until former President Jair Bolsonaro\u2019s<\/a> 2019\u20132022 term, widely criticized for weakening environmental protections. Under President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva\u2019s administration, deforestation has fallen again, reaching its lowest levels in a decade. <\/a><\/p>\n

Greenpeace Brazil legal coordinator Angela Barbarulo called the court\u2019s recognition of the moratorium\u2019s constitutionality \u201cenormously important,\u201d but said the ruling was undercut by its endorsement of state laws that penalize farmers and companies that adopt environmental standards beyond those required by law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an apparent contradiction between recognizing the environmental importance of the soy moratorium while simultaneously validating state laws that can weaken its effectiveness,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen it comes to protecting the Amazon, we should not allow state legislation to create loopholes or incentives that undermine environmental commitments built collectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries, or ABIOVE, said the Supreme Court ruling ends years of legal uncertainty and validates voluntary sustainability commitments adopted by traders. However, the group referred to the moratorium in the past tense, suggesting Wednesday\u2019s decision is unlikely to revive the pact.<\/p>\n

ABIOVE also said it hoped the ruling would \u201copen a new phase of dialogue among different parts of the supply chain, with a focus on legal certainty, competitiveness and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mato Grosso Soy Producers Association, which opposed the moratorium, said in a statement that the ruling reinforced the authority of state governments to push back against private-sector measures that impose environmental restrictions beyond those required by law. It also pledged to continue fighting any future agreements that recreate the moratorium\u2019s restrictions.<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) \u2014 Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court on Wednesday dealt a major blow to the future of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":997353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[2906,19208,399591,4214,19207,64,1613,10106,356,21736,57,3464,39155,1612,4215,50,26922,4217,17051,103,107],"class_list":["post-997352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-agriculture","tag-amazon-river","tag-angela-barbarulo","tag-brazil","tag-brazil-government","tag-business","tag-central-america","tag-climate-and-environment","tag-courts","tag-forests","tag-general-news","tag-international-agreements","tag-jair-bolsonaro","tag-latin-america","tag-luiz-incio-lula-da-silva","tag-news","tag-plants","tag-south-america","tag-subsidies","tag-world","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117086100275511545","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=997352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/997353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=997352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=997352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=997352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}