President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) reacted to the annual report from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which points to Pix as one of the main barriers imposed by Brazil to American commercial interests. According to Lula, Brazil will not change the mechanism because of American interest.
“The United States made a report this week about Pix and they said that Pix distorts international trade, because I think Pix creates problems for their currency. It’s important for us to tell anyone who wants to listen to us. Pix is from Brazil and no one is going to make us change Pix because of the service it is providing to Brazilian society. What we can do is improve Pix so that, more and more, it can meet the needs of women and men in this country”, stated Lula.
The president’s statement was made during an agenda in Salvador (BA). Lula was already heading towards the end of his speech when the minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication (Secom), Sidônio Palmeira, approached the president and said: “Tell me about the Pix business”.
In addition to Pix, the USTR report said that the “blouse tax” and proposed social media regulations are obstacles to US trade.
Regarding Pix, the document says that the Central Bank “created, owns, operates and regulates” the instant payments system, raising concerns that there is preferential treatment for the public platform to the detriment of foreign financial service providers.
The USTR document is part of Section 301, legislation that investigates alleged unfair trade practices that harm the American economy. This investigation may provide the basis for future sanctions from the United States, such as the imposition of additional tariffs.
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The statements took place at an electoral event in Salvador (BA), where Lula visited VLT implementation works in the capital of Bahia. During the agenda, the president declared that the opposition will have to “suffer a lot” to beat him in the October presidential election.
