Tariff hike: Pix system challenges US financial control over Brazil
According to experts in economics and international relations consulted by Agência Brasil, Brazil’s Pix system has become one of the targets of the US government because, among other reasons, it challenges Washington’s financial influence over the country's electronic payment system.
In the assessment of experts consulted by Agência Brasil, the Trump administration’s rationale for including Pix among the justifications for the 25 percent tariff is primarily geopolitical rather than strictly economic, reflecting concerns over competition with US companies such as Visa, Mastercard, and WhatsApp Pay.
Maicon Cláudio da Silva, a professor of economics at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), points out that the attack on Pix is directly related to the United States’ loss of power and control over Brazil’s financial system.
“This type of measure makes it clear that the United States does not want to lose the power it currently wields over much of the global financial system. It is no coincidence that China does not use Visa or Mastercard. It has its own payment systems, and that is linked to the country’s greater sovereignty and autonomy,” Silva said.
The professor noted that Pix has increased financial inclusion among Brazilians, bringing economic benefits to US companies as well.
“Economic transactions that previously took place only in cash are now carried out through the financial system via Pix. This makes it easier for people to access bank accounts and, eventually, credit cards as well,” he explained.
In 2025, credit cards processed BRL 4.5 trillion, following the expansion of Pix - a 10.1 percent increase, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Credit Card and Services Companies (ABECS).
Immediate economic losses
Since the US runs a trade surplus with Brazil, the steep tariffs are likely to affect American companies more severely, noted the UFRRJ professor. In this context, short-term economic interests are set aside.
“From an immediate perspective, these tariffs end up hurting the US more. Therefore, this is an international economic policy focused on exercising power through sanctions and steep tariffs to pressure countries into submitting to the US,” Silva concluded.
Pix as an instrument of power
Ronaldo Carmona, a professor of geopolitics at the Escola Superior de Guerra (ESG), emphasized that Pix has become an instrument of power for Brazil, expanding the country’s economic and financial sovereignty.
“By increasing the country’s autonomy and sovereignty, Brazil promotes bilateral foreign trade with other countries in national currencies, reducing reliance on the dollar and avoiding dollar-based arbitrage and seigniorage [revenue from currency issuance],” he noted.
Carmona also emphasized that Brazil’s Central Bank has technical cooperation agreements with 47 countries to implement systems similar to Pix abroad, which could further weaken Washington’s influence over financial transactions in other parts of the world.
Pix circumvents sanctions
National payment systems, such as Pix, limit the application of US economic sanctions against institutions and individuals, “unlike what happens with American systems,” explained the professor.
This is because US-based payment systems typically comply with sanctions imposed by the White House.
Maicon Cláudio da Silva, a professor of economics at UFRRJ, cited the sanctions against Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and the blockade against Cuba as examples of how Washington projects power over sovereign countries through financial restrictions.
“The escalation of the US economic embargo against Cuba ultimately led Visa and Mastercard to suspend operations on the island. By controlling payment methods, the US can impose some form of economic sanction on countries or individuals at any time,” Silva explained.
Europe seeks financial sovereignty
In an article published days before the announcement of the massive tariff hike on Brazil, the British magazine The Economist stated that Brazil’s Pix, along with other initiatives by the European Union (EU), has been challenging US financial “supremacy.”
“The rise of ‘sovereign’ systems, especially in Europe - a major source of international business for Visa and Mastercard - could erode their enviable operating margins of more than 50 percent,” the magazine reads.
Recently, the EU announced the Digital Euro, an electronic payment initiative similar to Pix, which will be free and available to the public, with a pilot project scheduled to launch in 2027.
European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde said openly that the goal is to reduce dependence on foreign systems.
“We rely predominantly on American networks, but also, at times, on Chinese ones, to process payments. We need a European solution because we want to be sovereign internally,” she told Euronews.
