Brazil's government is considering extending the 12% tax on crude-oil exports for another 60 days. The economic team intends to use the foreign-trade authority Camex again, with a meeting expected to consider the proposal before the current resolution expires on September 9.
The levy began through a provisional measure in March as the government sought revenue for fuel subsidies and protection against price pressure linked to the Iran war. That measure expired on July 9, and the executive committee of Camex issued a resolution the next day to preserve the charge.
Oil producers have taken the dispute to federal court in Brasília. Their legal challenge argues that the trade resolution lacks an independent administrative basis, improperly keeps an expired provisional measure alive and weakens Congress's control over a tax that lawmakers never voted on.
The Finance Ministry maintains that the policy produced regulatory effects beyond revenue. Its case for continuation cites higher refinery processing, lower imports and greater domestic output of products led by diesel, together with continuing volatility, logistical constraints and risks to energy transport through the Strait of Hormuz.
The legal conflict differs from an earlier dispute over a 9.2% export tax introduced in 2023. In July, the Supreme Federal Court's First Panel upheld that measure and found that its economic, exchange-rate and anti-inflation objectives gave it a regulatory function as well as a revenue effect; companies are now attacking the post-expiry instrument itself.
The current tax has brought the federal government R$8 billion. Industry executives contrast that burden with fuel subsidies benefiting Petrobras, which plans to distribute R$17.4 billion in first-quarter dividends, including R$6.2 billion to the federal government as its largest shareholder.
Producers also question whether retaining more crude inside Brazil can deliver the intended result because domestic refineries cannot absorb all available output. One industry representative pointed to Petrobras refineries operating at 101% or 104% of rated capacity, while officials considered but rejected cutting the tax to 5% or 6%.
The extension is tied to the unsettled timetable for withdrawing fuel subsidies. Companies want a predictable exit plan to avoid market distortions in favor of Petrobras, while the Finance Ministry has indicated that support measures could end if the oil price stabilizes near $80 a barrel.
