PFAS Controversy in Brazil
Debates over PFAS regulation are already heating up in the U.S. and Europe—and now the controversy has arrived in Brazil.
Brazil’s federal Congress is considering its first PFAS bill, which would:
⭐ establish a National PFAS Control Policy to map, monitor, and control PFAS emissions, including setting maximum and progressively stricter concentration limits in water, air, soil, and food;
⭐ regulate the use, production, and disposal of PFAS;
⭐ promote health surveillance of exposed communities; and
⭐ require companies that use PFAS to file annual reports on use and disposal, adopt reduction and phase-out measures, and monitor and protect workers from occupational exposure.
So what’s the controversy?
The bill was assigned to four committees in the Chamber of Deputies and expected to move through them without requiring a plenary vote. But that timeline is now off track—because the committees can’t agree.
⭐ Earlier this year, the Environment Committee voted to approve the bill.
⭐ Last week, the Urban Development Committee voted to reject it.
What happens next?
Because of these conflicting decisions, parliamentary rules now require that the bill be sent to a plenary vote once it completes its review by the remaining two committees.
Next stops:
1️⃣ Health Committee
2️⃣ Constitution, Justice, and Citizenship Committee
Then, the full Chamber will vote.
What does this mean? These opposing views reveal that PFAS regulation is just as politically and economically sensitive in Brazil as it is in North America and Europe. We’ll continue to monitor and report on the progress of Latin America’s first national PFAS control proposal.
Honduras: Major Reforms to Fertilizer Rules
Honduras is developing a major new Regulation for the Registration, Use and Control of Fertilizers, Stimulants, Soil Amendments, Raw Materials and Related Substances for Agricultural and Gardening Use.
This broad regulation sets the technical, administrative and legal rules under the Law on Plant and Animal Health regarding registration, importation, manufacture, formulation, re-packaging, re-packing, transportation, storage, distribution, sale, use, application, handling, extraction, researching and exportation of fertilizers, stimulants, soil amendments, raw materials and related substances for agricultural and lawn and garden use.
Notably, the Draft calls for the products to include a technical data sheet taken from the GHS. A dedicated Annex to the Draft sets out the content that needs to be in the data sheet based on the GHS – without ever referencing a specific Revision of the GHS. This category-specific adoption of the GHS – in countries that have not adopted it at the national level – is a trend we are seeing in the region. Recently, the Dominican Republic adopted new rules on cosmetics and cleaning products that incorporates GHS for hazardous products in a country that does not have a national adoption of the GHS.
The comment period runs for 60 days from the November 24th WTO notification date.
Link:
Brazil’s Climate Change Moves
The dust has settled on the global climate change meeting known as the COP. COP30, hosted by Brazil in the Amazonian city of Belem, had its fans and its critics. All can agree, though, that it did not yield a clear global agreement on the energy transition.
Despite that failure, the COP may mark a moment when national and regional efforts stepped in the fill the void of international action. On December 8th, President Lula of Brazil issued an official instruction to the Ministries of Mines and Energy, Finance, Environment and Climate Change, and the Chief of Staff’s Office that they have sixty (60) days to:
· Prepare a draft resolution to be submitted, as a matter of priority, to the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), with the aim of establishing guidelines for drawing up a roadmap for a fair and planned energy transition, with a view to gradually reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, and
· Propose appropriate financing mechanisms for the implementation of the energy transition policy, including the creation of the Energy Transition Fund, which will be financed by a portion of government revenues from oil and natural gas exploration.
While this is obviously a strong call to action at the national level, as we often discuss in this Newsletter, the devil – or God – is in the details. We will need to wait to see what emerges from this instruction.
Link to Despacho:
https://www.in.gov.br/web/dou/-/despacho-do-presidente-da-republica-673667496
Latin American Regulatory Harmonization on Cosmetics & Personal Care
We don’t have an EU-style union of Latin American countries. We have trade pacts (Andean Community, Central American SICA/SIECO, Mercosur, etc.), and we have ALADI, the Latin American Integration Association. ALADI seeks to create a network of agreements that will make Latin America into a broad common market. One avenue to achieve its goal is to hammer out agreements to eliminate technical barriers to trade.
In its latest efforts, ALADI concluded technical negotiations on a Partial Scope Agreement to eliminate technical barriers to trade in cosmetics, personal care, and perfumery products. The agreement will facilitate intraregional trade, streamline procedures, and promote regulatory convergence in a sector valued at over US$55 billion across member economies.
National delegations agreed on the substantive provisions of the future accord. Ten of the thirteen ALADI member countries have agreed to join, committing to adopt international standards, harmonize minimum labeling rules, simplify procedures, eliminate unnecessary documents, and apply risk-based market surveillance. The deal is expected to reduce costs and timelines, strengthen regional value chains, and deliver safer, higher-quality products to consumers.
The ten ALADI countries that agreed to the cosmetics trade facilitation agreement are:
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Uruguay
Next steps
With the conclusion of negotiations, the legal and administrative stage of the process now begins, which is expected to continue until the end of January 2026 and should result in the formal signing of the agreement. The agreement would then enter into force 15 days after the second formal notification to the ALADI General Secretariat. It could be implemented gradually by the member countries as they complete their own national processes.
Perhaps we will see some real impact from this type of regional agreement – but it’s too early to make any conclusions about impact yet.
Hazard Signals from EU and IARC Drive Uruguay Draft Resolution
We continue to see Latin America follow EU and international precedents to ban or restrict CMR substances. We saw Mercosur adopt a ban on CMR substances in cosmetics and personal care this year. Now, we have Uruguay issuing a draft Resolution on the Prohibition of Solvents for pesticide formulation that aims to reduce risks to human health and the environment by restricting certain solvents it deems carcinogenic used in emulsifiable concentrate (EC) agricultural pesticides.
We should note that the decision to restrict these substances comes after input from the country’s Center for Toxicological Information and Advice of the Faculty of Medicine, an advisory body to the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries – General Directorate of Agricultural Services (MGAP-DGSA) for the registration of Phytosanitary Products, that based its determination on the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Based on those sources, Uruguay identifies a list of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons and other substances (including benzene, formaldehyde, 1,2-dichloropropane and pentachlorophenol) classified as carcinogens in categories 1A and 1B.
The resolution:
- Calls for banning the use of these listed substances in the formulation of EC-type agricultural pesticides.
- Would enters into force 30 days after publication in the Official Gazette.
- Grants a 365-day transition period for formulators to adjust formulations and update registrations, and for sale of existing stocks.
- States that non-compliance will be sanctioned under existing law.
- Orders publication, notification to industry associations and companies, and communication to relevant government units.
The Draft was presented to the WTO for a comment process that concludes on January 26, 2026.
Link to Draft:
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2025/TBT/URY/25_08196_00_s.pdf
Circular Economy on FastTrack in Latin America
The concept of “Circular Economy” has absolutely risen to the top of policy agendas across Latin America. Now, Panama becomes a regional leader as perhaps the first to move from concept to a new Circular Economy Law (Law 502/2025). As with all these policies, the new Law seeks to protect the environment by rationalizing use of natural resources, reduce pollution from waste, and keep material sin the production cycle as long as possible.
The Law itself is quite short and broad. It will take the future National Council on Circular Economy, (within the attached to the Ministry of Environment) to develop the National Strategic Plan on Circular Economy before we get any hard details.
The future National Plan will include:
- Technical guidelines for sectors and for EPR.
- Targets for waste reduction and recovery.
- Collaboration strategies among actors.
- Identification of opportunities for green jobs.
- Training programs and fiscal information.
- Monitoring, evaluation, and compliance timelines.
In addition to the usual concepts around circularity, in this law Panama clearly adopts two principles that should put industry on notice:
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to manage environmental impacts over the entire product life cycle.
- Polluter Pays.
Although the details of either EPR or polluter pays will require the national plan and presumably even an implementing regulation, it is clear that the Circular Economy plans in Panama come with obligations for industry.
Finally, circularity will be required for public procurement. Specifically, the Law amends Article 40 of the Public Procurement Law to introduce sustainable, socially responsible, and circular economy criteria into all public purchasing processes, including energy efficiency and innovation.
The full impact of the new Law will only be felt as the supporting policies and details are fleshed out.
Link to Law:
https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTemp/30413/GacetaNo_30413_20251126.pdf
Brazil: Regulating HFCs through New Rule
Brazil recently posted for public comment a draft technical rule that updates its regulation of substances under the Montreal Protocol to include hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) that were added to the treaty by the Kigali Amendment. Once adopted, the new rule would replace the existing standards to control not only the ozone depleting substances but also this category of potent greenhouse gases that are often used in refrigeration, air conditioning, building insulation, and aerosols.
The draft standard sets maximum annual import limits and provides for the allocation, consumption, and redistribution of specific quotas and technical reserves. The reform also consolidates the obligations for the various agents in the chain, including the annual declaration of controlled substances.
The public comment period closes on December 31, 2025.
Link to Draft:
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