On August 14, the federal government published, in a special edition of the Federal Official Gazette, Provisional Measure 1,309/25, which establishes, within the scope of the federal Executive Branch, the Sovereign Brazil Plan and the Monitoring Committee for Trade Relations with the United States of America, in addition to amending various legal provisions.
MP 1,309/25 was issued in response to the imposition by the United States of additional tariffs on Brazilian exports – the so-called “tariff hike.” The normative act introduces a set of emergency measures to mitigate the economic and social impacts of these restrictions, primarily aiming to minimize the direct effects on Brazilian exporting companies.
As anticipated in an article published on our Legal Intelligence portal, the tariff hike came into effect on August 6 and is already causing significant impacts, especially on exporting companies. In response, state finance departments began planning measures to prevent harm to these companies’ cash flow.
MP 1,309/25 launches the Sovereign Brazil Plan and activates a package of instruments to protect exporters’ cash flow and competitiveness.
Credit and Guarantee Measures
The measure updates provisions regarding the Export Credit Insurance (SCE) and the Export Guarantee Fund (FGE). It also introduces other initiatives:
- Expands coverage scope (including risk-sharing between the FGE and foreign export credit agencies, insurers, reinsurers, financial institutions, and international organizations);
- Creates a new modality of the Emergency Credit Access Program called Peac-FGI Solidário;
- Adjusts the National Support Program for Micro and Small Enterprises (Pronampe).
Additionally, MP 1,309/25 authorizes the government to use up to R$ 30 billion from the FGE surplus for new financing lines to be offered by BNDES and qualified banks.
Tax and Cash Flow Measures
The provisional measure grants the Ministry of Finance authority to establish conditions and criteria for prioritizing the refund/reimbursement of credits and deferral of federal taxes. It also provides for exceptional extensions of deadlines under the drawback regime and authorizes public purchases of food products that lost access to foreign markets, as a relief measure for the sector.
From a strictly tax perspective, there are three fronts with immediate practical effects on cash flow:
- Procedural: An act by the Ministry of Finance may prioritize credit refunds and defer federal tax payments for companies affected by the tariffs (Article 1, §1), reducing the need for working capital in a pressured revenue scenario.
- Extension of drawback deadlines (detailed below), which prevents the termination of concession acts in this context of increased export costs and the consequent collection of suspended taxes (Article 10).
- Pending confirmation: The explanatory memorandum signals an adjustment to Reintegra rules for exports affected by unilateral tariff measures abroad. This adjustment should be implemented through infralegal acts.
About the Drawback Regime
It is important to remember that drawback is a special customs regime that exempts the acquisition of inputs intended for the production of exported goods, through suspension, exemption, or refund of taxes (on import or domestic purchase of inputs).
In the most common modality (suspension), taxes are suspended while the company fulfills the commitment to export within the term of the concession act. Provided the requirements are met, the suspension becomes a definitive exemption. It is a classic mechanism for reducing industrial costs and preserving export margins.
Essentially, what MP 1,309/25 changes is the deadline for fulfilling the regime: exceptionally, drawback acts whose export commitments to the United States were affected by the new tariffs may have their suspension extended for one more year, provided that:
- They have already had a previous extension;
- The original final term falls between July 9 and December 31, 2025; and
- There is proof of commercial intent/pre-existing contract.
The rule also applies to intermediate manufacturers supplying inputs to exporting industries.
In practice, with the provisional measure, companies gain time to export without triggering the collection of suspended taxes – preserving cash flow and avoiding litigation over non-compliance with the act.
Despite many points still pending regulation, interested exporting companies should quickly assess the measures introduced by MP 1,309/25 to avoid losing competitiveness and suffering direct financial impacts.
