Brazil’s Supreme Court Upholds State Laws That Penalize the Soy Moratorium
Brazil's top court upheld state laws that strip tax breaks from companies honoring the Soy Moratorium, while affirming the anti-deforestation pact is legal. The post Brazil’s Supreme Court Upholds State Laws That Penalize the Soy Moratorium appeared first on The Rio Times .
Brazil's Supreme Court has upheld state laws that penalize companies for adhering to the Soy Moratorium, a voluntary anti-deforestation pact. The decision, made on Wednesday, 12 August 2026, allows states to withdraw tax breaks from firms that sign the accord. The Soy Moratorium is a private-sector pact initiated in 2006, requiring traders to not purchase soy grown on Amazon land cleared after a set cutoff date.
The pact includes major exporters and the cutoff was set at July 2006 and later aligned with July 2008. The judgment clears the way for states to strip fiscal benefits from pact signatories. The case, comprising two direct actions, challenged the constitutionality of Mato Grosso’s Law 12.709/2024 and Rondônia’s Law 5.837/2024. The court upheld the state law while declaring the moratorium itself legal, marking a divided verdict.
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