AGU Seeks 120-Day STF Extension on Mato Grosso Law Targeting Soy Moratorium

Overview

• Brazil’s Solicitor General asked Minister Flávio Dino on December 30 to extend for 120 days the suspension of Article 2 of Law 12.709/2024 so the federal government can pursue conciliation before the rule’s January 1, 2026 start, and the STF has not ruled.
• Greenpeace filed a parallel petition urging an extended suspension, citing press reports that major traders may quit the voluntary pact to retain state tax benefits and flagging grave environmental risks.
• Mato Grosso published a decree on December 30 to regulate the statute, with enforcement beginning January 1, 2026, withdrawing fiscal incentives and access to public lands from companies that adopt restrictions beyond Brazilian law.
• Producer groups Aprosoja Brasil and Aprosoja-MT asked the court to deny any extension, asserting the existing transition period is adequate and arguing the provision does not encourage illegal deforestation.
• Supporting filings cite studies projecting a 30% rise in Amazon deforestation and about 1 billion tonnes of annual CO2 emissions if the pact collapses (IPAM), along with modest national GDP losses, a larger contraction in Mato Grosso, higher soy operating costs, and risks of market diversion (ICV/Esalq).