Brazil’s Pix Instant Payments System at Center of US Trade Dispute

People in Brazil seem to love the Pix instant payment system.

The U.S. government is a different story.

Last year, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) launched a probe into what it called “unfair trade practices” by Brazil, with one part of the investigation examining whether the country discriminated against U.S. companies in favor of Pix.

Last month, the USTR said in a press release that the investigation concluded that “certain of Brazil’s acts, policies and practices” related to digital trade and electronic payments services “are unreasonable and burden or restrict U.S. commerce” and therefore actionable.

The action could come in the form of a new 25% tariff on Brazilian goods, The Economist reported Sunday (July 12).

The two countries have been negotiating the dispute ahead of a Wednesday (July 15) deadline.

“Over the past year, President [Donald] Trump and I have had several constructive meetings with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his cabinet, which have accelerated in recent weeks,” Ambassador Jamieson Greer said in the June 1 USTR press release. “However, we continue to have substantial differences in resolving the issues identified in this investigation.”

Brazilian politicians from both ends of the political spectrum have come out in support of Pix, according to The Economist report.

“Pix is a Brazilian achievement, and we will not give it up,” da Silva said, per the report.

Launched in 2020 and run by Brazil’s central bank, Pix lets people make money transfers in real time. Last year, it saw $7 trillion worth of transactions, the Associated Press reported May 13.

In February, payments company Ebanx projected that Pix would account for 45% of the country’s online sales by the end of 2026 and half in 2028.

“There has been a lot of trust-building among consumers around Pix, combined with wider availability on websites,” Ebanx Chief Product Officer Eduardo de Abreu said at the time.

Meanwhile, the PYMNTS Intelligence report “Digital Developments: Charting Digital Payment Growth in Latin America” found that Pix and similar solutions are turning households and small businesses that once lived separately from the traditional banking system into active players in the digital economy.