Washington views Brazil’s promotion of non-dollar payment channels, including Pix and the growth of stablecoins, as a potential threat to dollar-based trade.
Washington views Brazil’s promotion of non-dollar payment channels, including Pix and the growth of stablecoins, as a potential threat to dollar-based trade, even as dollar-linked stablecoins account for about 90% of Brazil's crypto transactions.
The United States will impose a 25% Section 301 tariff on most Brazilian goods starting July 22, targeting what it calls unfair advantages created by Brazil’s state-run Pix instant-payment system. U.S. trade officials argue that Pix’s rules, including free services for individuals and capped merchant fees, disadvantage American payment firms like Visa and Mastercard in a market where Pix now processes more transactions than cards.
The move comes as U.S. is trying to protect the dollar; however, the U.S. dollar already circulates widely in Brazil’s digital economy via stablecoins. The U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on most Brazilian goods on July 22, its first tariff under a Section 301 strategy the Trump administration revived after the Supreme Court struck down its earlier import taxes.
The case marks the first time Washington has used Section 301, the trade authority traditionally deployed against issues such as intellectual property theft, subsidies and market access, to target a country's domestic payment system.
“Today’s action is necessary to address these unfair trade practices to ensure American workers and companies can compete on a level playing field,” said Ambassador Jamieson Greer Among the practices Washington cites is Pix, Brazil's state-run instant-payment system, used by more than 90% of Brazilian adults and now handling more transactions in the country than credit and debit cards combined. The U.S. Trade Representative argues that Pix disadvantages American payment firms such as Visa and Mastercard, citing a rule requiring financial institutions with more than 500,000 active accounts to offer it to individuals free of charge.
“The Brazilian central bank encourages use of Pix over other services by mandating that participating institutions offer Pix for free to individuals and by capping the fee those institutions may charge businesses for Pix transactions,” The U.S. Trade RepresentativeWhile Visa and Mastercard don't break down their market share or revenue from Brazil, Pix has grown rapidly since its November 2020 launch. More than 170 million individuals have used the system,Pix handled 42.9 billion transactions in the second half of 2025, compared with 23.8 billion across credit, debit and prepaid cards, underscoring its massive scale of dominance in the country’s payments system.
The dispute comes as Washington grows increasingly concerned about efforts by Brazil and other BRICS countries to reduce reliance on dollar-based payment infrastructure. Brazil madeIronically, demand for the U.S. dollar in the country doesn’t appear to have subsided, as the U.S. dollar already circulates widely in Brazil’s digital economy via blockchain-based payment rails.
Dollar-linked stablecoins already account for roughly 90% of crypto transaction volume in Brazil, most of it used for payments and settlement, according toBrazil processes between $6 billion and $8 billion in crypto each month, much of it using dollar-denominated stablecoins instead of the country's own currency. However, even as dollar stablecoins have proliferated, Brazil's central bank has moved to limit their role in regulated cross-border payments.
, effective October 1, is set to bar payment firms from settling cross-border payments in stablecoins or other crypto, closing a back-end channel that had routed reais through dollar tokens. The central bank has cast stablecoins as a threat to monetary sovereignty, tax enforcement and anti-money laundering controls. Pix now faces pressure from both sides after Washington named it a trade barrier, while Brazilian regulators shield it from growing competition from dollar-backed stablecoins.
“In practice, they are complementary," Rodrigo Caggiano, founder of Brazilian real-world asset monitoring platform RWA Monitor, told CoinDesk. “Pix has addressed domestic instant payments well, while stablecoins expand what is possible by operating on blockchain networks. ” U.S. pressure is likely to accelerate Brazil's regulatory debate on stablecoins and digital financial infrastructure, Caggiano said, as the central bank builds its own tokenized-settlement system, Drex, on similar programmable rails.
What this move does is create a precedent for future trade disputes over governments building their own networks.
It could potentially extend beyond Brazil to countries such as India’s Unified Payments Interface and the European Central Bank's planned digital euro, according to theGate Leads Spot Market Share Gains as CEX Volumes Rise for First Time in Five MonthsCEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B. CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.CEX trading volumes rose for the first time in five months in June, with spot climbing 15.3% to $1.11T and RWA perpetual volumes surging to a record $311B.Stripe and Swift race to control the next generation of global payments infrastructure
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Brazil calls Trump’s 25% tariff unjustifiable, vows to impose reciprocal tariffsBrazil warns of reciprocal tariffs as tensions rise over new US trade penalties.
Read more »
Trump address live updates: President Trump speaks to the nation tonight on election integrityFollow live updates as President Donald Trump addresses the nation tonight in a primetime White House speech. Get the latest on Trump's election integrity announcement, key remarks, breaking news, video, and analysis.
Read more »
Trump says Washington's iconic Reflecting Pool damaged by 'vandals,' repairs in progressDesigned to mirror the Lincoln Memorial, one of Washington's most recognisable landmarks is back in the spotlight after Trump blamed vandals armed with knives for damaging the peeling blue coating on its newly renovated reflecting pool.
Read more »
What Trump’s 25% Brazil Tariffs Could Mean for the American Footwear SectorThe Trump administration has made good on its threats to raise tariffs on Brazil, upping duties to a precipitous 25 percent this week over “unfair” trade practices.
Read more »