By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s National Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA) filed a petition on Wednesday (Nov. 12) asking the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to overturn a ruling by Justice Flávio Dino that halted all judicial and administrative proceedings related to the Soy Moratorium. The CNA argues the decision blocks an ongoing probe by Brazil’s antitrust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), into potential cartel practices among major grain traders operating in the Amazon region.
According to a report by Broadcast/Estadão, the petition spans 20 pages and presents 20 arguments claiming the suspension is “clearly inappropriate.” The CNA says the constitutional case under review (ADI 7774), which examines a Mato Grosso state law granting tax incentives to firms that sign sustainability pacts, has no connection to Cade’s investigation of possible anticompetitive conduct.
The Soy Moratorium, created in 2006, is a voluntary agreement among trading firms, industry groups, NGOs, and government agencies to ban the purchase or financing of soybeans produced on land deforested in the Amazon after July 22, 2008. Roughly 30 companies, including major multinationals such as Cargill Inc., Bunge Ltd. (NYSE:BG), and Louis Dreyfus Company, are signatories to the pact, which has long divided farmers and traders.
In its petition, the CNA asserts that Cade holds exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether the pact constitutes coordination among competitors. “The core question is whether a pact among large multinational buyers that control 87% of soy purchases in the Amazon biome constitutes—or has effects similar to—a buying cartel,” the filing reads.
The CNA also disputes claims that the Supreme Court had previously validated the moratorium when it ruled on the Mato Grosso law. The group says any favorable remarks by the court were merely incidental and not legally binding.
The urgency of the CNA’s request follows Cade’s decision on Monday (Nov. 3) to open an administrative inquiry into 15 executives and agribusiness associations suspected of collusion under Brazil’s antitrust law (Law 12.529). The minister’s injunction suspended that process as well. Cade’s president, Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima, told Broadcast last week that “investigations into cartel behavior under the Competition Law should not be interrupted, especially when still in the evidence-gathering phase and involving potentially criminal conduct.”
In granting the injunction, Justice Dino said the suspension aimed to curb “excessive litigation” and provide legal certainty for agribusiness. The measure will remain in force until the STF concludes its review of ADI 7774, with a virtual plenary session scheduled from Friday (Nov. 14) through Tuesday (Nov. 25).
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