Why is Trump targeting Pix?

The trade investigation against Brazil opened on Tuesday 15 by the United States government , under order of President Donald Trump , targets several practices that the White House described as potentially “unfair”: obligations and fines against American social networks, Brazilian trade agreements with Mexico and India and tariffs applied to ethanol, among others.

However, none of them had as much impact among Brazilians as the mention of an alleged unfair practice with “electronic payment methods created by the government” – Pix .

The investigation was opened under Section 301 of the U.S. trade code, which covers "acts, policies, or practices of a foreign country that are unreasonable or discriminatory and injure or restrict U.S. commerce."

The report from the US federal agency responsible for international trade (USTR) states that these payment methods could harm “the competitiveness of American companies operating in digital commerce and electronic payment services.”

Competition for market share

To date, the USTR has not specified why an electronic payment method created by the Brazilian government could constitute an unfair practice against the United States.

Since its launch, Pix has captured a considerable share of a market dominated by credit and debit card brands such as Mastercard and Visa, both based in the US, and by electronic payment systems such as Google Pay and Apple Pay, also based in the US.

However, according to analyses published in the Brazilian media, one of them in Mariana Barbosa's column on the UOL portal, the main reason for the inclusion of Pix in the American investigation would have involved issues related to WhatsApp Pay, owned by Meta, led by American billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, who approached the White House after Trump's return to power.

WhatsApp Pay was initially launched in Brazil in June 2020 – the first country in the world to receive the service – to enable transfers and payment for purchases through WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app among Brazilians.

Money transfers between users were free, but product purchase transactions involved a 3.99% fee charged to the merchant.

Suspension of WhatsApp Pay

The week after the launch of Meta's system, however, the Central Bank – which was in the final stages of developing Pix – and the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) ordered the suspension of WhatsApp Pay in Brazil.

The Central Bank stated at the time that the objective was to “preserve an adequate competitive environment, which ensures the functioning of an interoperable, fast, secure, transparent, open and cheap payment system” and that “the eventual start or continuation of operations without prior analysis by the regulator could cause irreparable damage to the SPB, notably with regard to competition, efficiency and data privacy”.

Cade, however, pointed out that Cielo, which would handle the technical operations of transactions via WhatsApp Pay, could further strengthen its market position and pose a risk to competition. "Such a platform would be difficult for Cielo's competitors to create or replicate, especially if the agreement under investigation involves exclusivity between them," it stated.

Pix was launched in November 2020, five months after WhatsApp was suspended, and quickly became one of Brazilians' favorite payment methods, without requiring payment of fees.

According to the Central Bank, at the end of 2024, 76.4% of Brazilians used the system, which became the most used payment method in the country.

WhatsApp Pay, in turn, was authorized and began making financial transactions only in March 2021 – when Pix had already gained the preference of Brazilians.

One of the questions that may be raised in the American investigation is whether the Brazilian Central Bank misused its power to harm a private platform that would compete with Pix.

The USTR opened the period for receiving comments on the investigation against Brazil this Thursday, and a public hearing is scheduled for September 3 in Washington.

Brazilian government rejects investigation

In a social media post on Wednesday, the official profile of the Planalto Palace defended Pix .

"Pix belongs to Brazil and to Brazilians. It seems our Pix is causing a lot of jealousy abroad, you know? There are even letters complaining about the existence of our secure, confidential, and fee-free system," the Brazilian government wrote in the post.

"But what is Brazil? Sovereign. And it's very proud of the more than 175 million Pix users, which is already the most widely used payment method among Brazilians," he added, endorsing the pro-sovereignty rhetoric echoed by Lula after Trump imposed a 50% tax on Brazilian products .

Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who has been chosen by Lula to lead negotiations with the White House, also defended Pix in a meeting with business leaders this Wednesday.

Alckmin told reporters that the payments system is a "success" and that Brazil will explain point by point the questions raised in the US trade investigation.