Amazon Soy Moratorium: Almost 20 years of success tackling deforestation under threat

For nearly two decades, the Amazon Soy Moratorium (ASM) has played a vital role in reducing direct deforestation from soy production in the Brazilian Amazon. 

By Paula Bernasconi

South America Engagement Lead, Trase

The ASM has given confidence to buyers and investors who want to tackle deforestation in their value chains and portfolios. But this sterling example of successful, sector-wide action to protect nature is now under threat.

The moratorium was created in 2006 between the private sector (the Brazilian National Association of Grain Exporters and the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries) and civil society, with support from government organisations (the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and Banco do Brasil).

It is the first market-wide voluntary initiative to exclude soy grown on deforested land from global value chains. Signatories commit not to trade or finance soy produced in areas of the Amazon cleared after the 2008 cut-off date. The moratorium has reduced direct soy deforestation and optimised degraded land use. Its use of rigorous third-party audits and satellite monitoring promotes supply chain transparency and underpins confidence in the sustainable soy sector. 

According to Brazil’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change: “[B]etween 2006 and 2023, the area dedicated to soybeans in the Amazon biome grew 427%, without causing new deforestation. During the same period, growth in the rest of Brazil was 115%. Furthermore, 97.6% of the deforestation that occurred during this period was not associated with the expansion of soybean farming. […] Far from restricting the market, the agreement helped consolidate Brazil’s image as a reliable supplier of soybeans produced without deforestation and socio-environmental violations.”

(Excerpt translated from Portuguese by Global Canopy.)

On 25 August 2025, the Federal Supreme Court in Brasília overturned a suspension of the ASM that had been ordered a week earlier, on 18 August, by Brazil’s antitrust organisation, General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE). CADE had halted the ASM pending an investigation into alleged anticompetitive practices. However, the Court stated that CADE failed to consider technical and legal statements and, in doing so, interfered with Brazil’s environmental policy. 

These developments follow months of lobbying, legislative proposals and litigation at both state and federal levels related to the ASM. Notably, in 2024, the soy powerhouse state of Mato Grosso revoked tax incentives for signatories of the moratorium. The Federal Supreme Court initially blocked this move, but later reconsidered; the policy is now set to take effect in January 2026. Meanwhile, some agribusiness advocates have been pushing for changes to the satellite monitoring system, which could create loopholes. 

Over 80% of soy produced in the Amazon biome is shipped to global markets, including China (30%) and the EU (19%). The trade is concentrated, with almost 60% of Amazon-grown soybeans handled by ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus Company and Glencore, all of which are signatories of the moratorium. A permanent revocation of the ASM would expose China, Europe and the large commodity traders to deforestation risk.

Data from Global Canopy’s Forest 500 shows that 49% of downstream companies exposed to soy (including traders, manufacturers and retailers such as Cargill, Mars and Walmart) have a deforestation commitment for this commodity. Many rely on the moratorium as a trusted mechanism to help implement commitments.  

In July 2025, the 50 signatories of the UK Soy Manifesto publicly reinforced their support for the ASM. Following CADE’s suspension, 28 European food retailers signed an open letter urging the largest traders to publicly reaffirm the 2008 cut-off date for all soy purchases and to maintain compliance with the moratorium. 

Amid growing demand for soy and public concern about deforestation, companies and financial institutions are taking steps to eradicate deforestation and ecosystem conversion from global soy value chains. In 2024, COFCO International, a leading agribusiness company and a major player in the Chinese soy industry, announced the purchase of 50,000 tonnes of deforestation- and conversion-free soybeans. As China is the world’s largest buyer and importer of soybeans, the trade sent an important signal regarding the urgent need for a transition to deforestation-free value chains.     

A permanent revocation of the ASM would give farmers the green light to increase the expansion of soy cultivation at the expense of forests. Signatory trading companies would face increased deforestation exposure and reputational risk. As of 2022, only one of the top 15 exposed traders, Sodrugestvo, was not a signatory to the moratorium (see figure below).

David Cleary, a former director at the Nature Conservancy and trustee of Global Canopy, told The Guardian: “About 10 million hectares (25 million acres) – about the size of Portugal – could be suitable for legal clearance for soya if the moratorium is revoked, pushing up the value of that land by fivefold.”

Legal challenges to the soy moratorium are particularly jarring just months before the European Union Deforestation Regulation steps up implementation in December and Brazil hosts COP30 in November, where it seeks to showcase solutions. 

The ASM is a glowing example of successful collective action to clean up a critical value chain and protect a threatened ecosystem. A permanent revocation would be a setback for supply chain sustainability and corporate efforts to tackle deforestation risk. 

We urge CADE and the relevant authorities to work to remove the uncertainty, so that the ASM can continue to support the global trade of deforestation-free soy.