Latin America

On 20 May 2026, Brazil adopted Presidential Decree No. 12,976, establishing a comprehensive framework to address violence against women online. Adopted alongside a parallel decree (No. 12,975) reforming intermediary liability, it reflects a more assertive approach to regulating online harms, including those driven or amplified by AI. Together, these measures will require companies to reassess internal processes to ensure rapid content removal and more proactive monitoring, including for AI‑enabled services.

Continue Reading Brazil Steps Up Regulation of Violence Against Women in the Digital Environment

On May 6, 2026, Brazil’s House of Deputies approved the text of the Critical and Strategic Minerals Bill. The bill establishes a new legal framework for critical and strategic minerals production with a focus on national security, local manufacturing, and sustainability. The bill was approved with wide political support and…

Continue Reading Brazil’s House Approves New Critical and Strategic Minerals Legal Framework

Introduction

Critical minerals have received a surge of attention recently, much of it tied to China’s dominance of extraction and processing and recent application of export controls on minerals with defense applications.  Policy discussions tend to focus on “critical minerals” collectively, but it is important to distinguish those needed for agriculture and transportation from those needed for national security.  Every mineral deemed essential for U.S. national security, economic security, and supply chain resilience and included on the official list of critical minerals maintained by U.S. Geological Survey list is important for its own reasons, but there are a few elements whose looming shortage now borders on an emergency, requiring extra focus from policymakers.  Certain “heavy” rare earth elements are among them.

Continue Reading Heavy Rare Earth Elements: Rising Supply Chain Risks and Emerging Policy Responses

Ahead of the July 2026 “joint review” of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”), the United States, Mexico, and Canada have each launched public consultation processes to solicit input from stakeholders on the operation of the USMCA, and possible changes those governments should seek to the Agreement as part of the review.

Continue Reading The United States, Mexico, and Canada Launch Domestic Consultation Processes on Upcoming USMCA Review

Brazil’s National Institute of Intellectual Property (“INPI”) initiated a public consultation on new guidance for the review of patent applications related to artificial intelligence (“AI”). The draft guidance document consolidates three previous INPI regulations and best practices adopted by other patent offices.

Click here to read the full alert on

Continue Reading Brazilian Government Opens Consultation on Artificial Intelligence-Related Patent Applications

The United States and Colombia have historically maintained a strong bilateral partnership that has been the envy of much of Latin America. However, the bilateral relationship today is facing a test as U.S. and Colombian approaches to shared problems increasingly diverge. The next several months present milestones that will have…

Continue Reading U.S.-Colombia Relations Facing Key Decision Points with Implications for Businesses

As described in our prior client alert, President Trump threatened in July to impose tariffs of 50% on imports of products from Brazil in response to U.S. concerns regarding Brazil’s criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, recent judicial developments impacting social media regulation in Brazil, Brazil’s allegedly…

Continue Reading U.S. Tariffs and Sanctions Against Brazil and the Brazilian Response
  • In a July 9 letter sent to his Brazilian counterpart, President Trump vowed to impose a 50% tariff on “any and all Brazilian products” imported into the United States, effective August 1. He also previewed the initiation on July 15 of a U.S. investigation under Section 301 of
… Continue Reading U.S. Tariffs and Brazil’s Potential Response: A Guide for Businesses

Since 2020, over 60 bills have been introduced in the Mexican Congress seeking to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). In the absence of general AI legal framework, these bills have sought to regulate a broad range of issues, including governance, education, intellectual property, and data protection. Mexico lacks a comprehensive national…

Continue Reading New Artificial Intelligence Legislation in Mexico

Executive Summary

  • On November 27, Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad announced a package of spending cut measures and the outline of an income tax reform.  The package was a reaction to market unease over the perceived weakness of the country’s fiscal framework, which built up over the past year.
  • The announced spending cuts were poorly received by market players prompting the Brazilian real to reach a record devaluation against the U.S. dollar.  They perceived the announcements as lacking spending cut ambition and including future spending through income tax exemption.  There is also uncertain congressional support and no fixed timeframe for the approval of these measures.
  • Investors might reap short-term gains from the heated economy and low-priced assets in Brazil, but a fiscal framework in peril points to medium-term problems, including high inflation and reduced economic growth.

Analysis

On November 27 and after two months of internal government discussions, Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad announced a package of spending cuts in an effort to rescue the country’s fiscal framework.  In addition, Haddad announced President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration proposal for an income tax reform.

The following day, Haddad and five other ministers provided details on these measures.  The package was not well-received by market players, with the Brazilian real reaching a record devaluation against the U.S. dollar.

Brazil’s fiscal framework, proposed by the Lula administration in March 2023 and approved by Congress in August 2023, has been progressively weakened due to the Brazilian federal government’s lax fiscal policy and refusal to address structural spending issues.

Continue Reading Brazil’s Fiscal Framework in Peril: Impact on Businesses