Showing archive for: “South & Central American Law”
Brussels Rules Without the Brussels Perks
Brussels’ latest competition guidelines should probably come with a warning label. Countries borrowing them risk importing dubious economics, remedies designed for Europe’s very specific institutional problems, and a trade fight with Washington. On Sept. 3, after a three-year process, the European Commission adopted its first guidelines on exclusionary abuses under Article 102 of the Treaty ... Brussels Rules Without the Brussels Perks
Two Years, 57 Pages, No Merger: Amazon, Anthropic, and Brazil’s Filing Problem
The wave of artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships and “acqui-hires”—deals to acquire a company’s talent—has reached Brazil. The tribunal of Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) decided its first batch of such cases involving large technology firms and AI startups in May. A second round followed in September with Amazon/Anthropic—the would-be merger that turned out ... Two Years, 57 Pages, No Merger: Amazon, Anthropic, and Brazil’s Filing Problem
Premium, Regular, or Collusive? Brazil’s Aprix Case Tests Algorithmic Pricing
Few antitrust investigations find their theory of harm laid out in the target’s sales brochure. Brazil’s investigation of Aprix, a startup that sells pricing software to gas stations, nearly managed the feat. One of the company’s promotional brochures introduced prospective clients to the prisoner’s dilemma, the classic game-theory example in which individually rational choices can ... Premium, Regular, or Collusive? Brazil’s Aprix Case Tests Algorithmic Pricing
Brazil’s Gatekeeper Bill Gets a Tuneup, Not a Rethink
Brazil may soon become the first country in the Americas to regulate digital platforms before they do anything wrong. Bill 4,675/2025 would let the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) designate large technology companies as having “systemic relevance” and impose special obligations without first proving anticompetitive conduct or consumer harm. That is a substantial change ... Brazil’s Gatekeeper Bill Gets a Tuneup, Not a Rethink
Brazil’s Google News Case and the Art of Not Letting Go
Some legal cases age like wine. Others age like browser tabs left open too long. Brazil’s Google News inquiry belongs firmly in the latter category. On April 3, Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) announced that its Tribunal had unanimously decided to send a seven-year-old administrative inquiry concerning Google’s use of journalistic content—whether for ... Brazil’s Google News Case and the Art of Not Letting Go
Before Brazil Scrubs In: The Case Against Digital-Market Surgery
Brazil’s digital markets do not need a regulatory savior so much as a careful doctor. Bill 4,675/2025 arrives with the bedside manner of a reform, but the instruments of major surgery: a new bureaucracy, decade-long designations, and open-ended obligations for firms deemed systemically important. Before Congress scrubs in, it should ask whether the patient is ... Before Brazil Scrubs In: The Case Against Digital-Market Surgery
From Buenos Aires to the World: Trading Away Distortions
The United States and Argentina signed a trade and investment liberalization agreement last week aimed squarely at market distortions. The pact would cut tariff and non-tariff barriers, while targeting entrenched Argentine government-sponsored anticompetitive practices. The agreement offers a template for future Trump administration trade deals that focus on such distortions. More broadly, initiatives of this ... From Buenos Aires to the World: Trading Away Distortions
Brazil’s Digital Markets Bill: A DMA Through the Back Door?
The Brazilian government’s executive branch hosted a political ceremony last week in which it unveiled its “Digital Brazil Agenda,” which proposes six government projects to build a “safer, more competitive, and more innovative digital environment.” The most high-profile of these was the Digital Child and Teenager Act, which would set rules for how social-media platforms ... Brazil’s Digital Markets Bill: A DMA Through the Back Door?
Beyond the Bark: Brazil’s Prudent Path in Digital Regulation
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recently endorsed giving the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) much more power to regulate Big Tech, even as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs “on countries whose taxes, legislation and regulations target US big tech companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple.” Trump’s declaration ... Beyond the Bark: Brazil’s Prudent Path in Digital Regulation
Lessons from the UK for Brazil’s Digital Market Strategy
Brazil is broadly expected to move forward in the very near future with plans to adopt ex-ante competition regulations to govern digital platforms. Indeed, in the wake of a public consultation launched by the Ministry of Finance in early 2024, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the administration have spent much of the past ... Lessons from the UK for Brazil’s Digital Market Strategy
The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima
Gustavo, could you please tell us a bit about yourself and your professional background? I’m a law practitioner with a master’s degree in law and public policy, specializing in constitutional and administrative law. I served as a federal attorney and litigator before the Brazilian Supreme Court and was appointed by the attorney general as the ... The View from Brazil: A TOTM Q&A with Gustavo Augusto Freitas de Lima
Is Brazil’s Digital Markets Proposal Based on Genuine Consensus or Unproven Narrative?
A popular narrative has emerged in Brazil in recent years about the “genuine consensus” supporting the need for more stringent regulation of digital markets. This narrative has been fueled by a growing number of cases of alleged anticompetitive conduct by so-called “global mega-corporations,” including the Mercado Livre/Apple case and the more recent Meta/Apple case. The ... Is Brazil’s Digital Markets Proposal Based on Genuine Consensus or Unproven Narrative?
