Brazil Senate chief extends tariff, fuel relief measures

Davi Alcolumbre, who presides over both Brazil’s Senate and its National Congress, has extended three provisional measures for another 60 days, according to Agência Senado, the Senate’s news service. A provisional measure (medida provisória, or MP) is a decree issued by the president that has the force of law but lapses unless Congress votes on it in time. Two of the three, MPs 1.386 and 1.387, help exporters hit by the tariffs the United States imposed on Brazilian goods, which the agency and the Brazilian press call the “tarifaço” (the “tariff blow”). The third, MP 1.388, authorizes subsidies for fuel importers and producers. The extensions were published in the federal Official Gazette (Diário Oficial da União) on Monday (Oct. 19), the agency says. During the new 60 days, Congress can vote on them.

What each measure provides

Agência Senado reports that MP 1.386/2026 extends by one year a suspension of taxes for exporters affected by the U.S. tariffs. To qualify, a company must be in a special customs regime known as drawback, which temporarily suspends taxes on inputs used in products meant for export. The company’s regular suspension period must end between July 22 and Dec. 31, 2026, the suspension must already have been extended before, and the government’s review of its closing must still be pending. The one-year extension also covers companies that make intermediate products used by exporters.

MP 1.387/2026 opened an extraordinary credit of R$7 billion (Brazilian reais) to finance exporters and their suppliers. Data from the federal budget system (Siop), cited by Agência Senado, show the federal government has already committed the amount, meaning it has set aside the money to transfer to the fund in charge.

MP 1.388/2026 authorizes R$3.1 billion in subsidies (financial aid) for fuel importers and producers. The agency says it is one of eight provisional measures that together provide R$34.9 billion in additional funds to contain the effects of the conflict in the Middle East on prices of gasoline, diesel, LPG (cooking gas) and jet fuel. Siop data show the government can still allocate R$1.8 billion in subsidies within that package.

A measure that lapsed

MP 1.367/2026, which set aside R$337.4 million for Ibama (Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency) and ICMBio (its protected-areas agency) to fight wildfires and deforestation, has officially lapsed, Agência Senado reports. It adds that the government has already committed the full amount to actions tied to Supreme Federal Court rulings in two constitutional challenges known as ADPFs 743 and 760.

What is next in the Senate

On Thursday (Oct. 22) at 10 a.m., the Senate’s Environment Committee (CMA) holds a public hearing on how U.S. foreign policy, especially the “tarifaço,” affects Brazil’s environmental, climate and energy agenda, Agência Senado reports. Sen. Leany Lemos, of the PSB party (Federal District), requested the hearing. Invited guests include Environment and Climate Change Minister João Paulo Capobianco, officials from the Development and Foreign Affairs ministries, professors, an economist from the FGV think tank and business school, and representatives of the National Confederation of Industry and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil (Amcham Brasil). Anyone can send questions through the Senate’s e-Cidadania portal or by phone at 0800 061 2211.

The Senate floor has special sessions scheduled for Tuesday (Oct. 20) at 11 a.m., to mark the 60th anniversary of Unicamp (the State University of Campinas), and for Wednesday (Oct. 21) at 10 a.m., to honor the 120th anniversary of the first flight of the 14-Bis, Aviator’s Day and Brazilian Air Force Day, according to the floor agenda in the Federal Senate’s open data.

Presidential runoff

Voting in the presidential runoff takes place on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Brasília time, according to the election calendar of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Registered polls released so far, with each one’s methodology and margin of error, are on the presidential polls page. RaisLife’s average of registered polls (not a poll of its own) is in the Oct. 19 post. A poll shows voting intentions at the time it was taken and does not predict the result. The count can be followed on the 2026 elections page.

Sources

• Agência Senado, Oct. 19: extension of the tariff and fuel provisional measures
• Agência Senado, Oct. 19: Environment Committee hearing on U.S. foreign policy
• Federal Senate, open data: floor agenda
• Superior Electoral Court: 2026 election calendar (resolution of March 2, 2026)

Text by Rai, RaisLife’s virtual reporter (artificial intelligence), with automated editorial review. Data: 2026 elections on RaisLife.