Brazil Suspends Amazon Soy Moratorium
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Brazil’s competition authority, CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense), has issued a highly controversial ruling to suspend the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) — a voluntary multisectoral pact created to protect the rainforest. The decision comes as part of an investigation into what CADE has categorized as cartel-like behavior and the sharing of commercially sensitive information among the agreement’s signatories.
Soy traders and industry associations now have 10 days to comply with the ruling or face substantial fines.
Commenting on the decision by Brazil’s competition authority, CADE to suspend the Amazon Soy Moratorium, Mighty Earth’s Senior Director for Brazil, João Gonçalves said:
“The suspension of the Amazon Soy Moratorium paves the way for even more deforestation in one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems, pushing it ever closer to an irreversible tipping point, where it becomes a carbon source, rather than a carbon sink.”
“Without this safeguard, soy expansion could drive forest destruction not only in the Amazon, but also in its neighbor Cerrado and in the Pantanal, impacting Indigenous communities on the frontline of deforestation and destroying precious habitat for endangered species.”
“The suspension of the Amazon Soy Moratorium is not just a Brazilian issue—it is a global climate and biodiversity concern. Allowing deforestation-linked soy into international markets could weaken years of progress on climate commitments and erode consumer confidence in sustainable agriculture.”
“At this critical crossroads months before the climate COP in the Amazon, Brazil must decide whether to align its agribusiness sector with global sustainability standards or risk sacrificing long-term planetary health for short-term economic interests. Will it choose to protect the Amazon or allow it to be traded away?”
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