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Amazon protected areas record low deforestation, Brazil rejects US tariff rationale
A study released by the Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon) on 24 July 2026 found that 588 of the 721 monitored protected areas – more than 80% – showed no deforestation between January and June 2026. The Amazon basin lost 1 145 km² of forest in that period, a 10% decline from the same half‑year in 2025 and the smallest first‑semester figure in eight years. Compared with the 2022 peak, deforestation fell 76%.
Protected areas accounted for only 97.37 km² (8% of the total), of which 9.38 km² occurred on indigenous lands and 87.99 km² in conservation units. The main remaining hotspots were the Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA) Triunfo do Xingu in Pará – responsible for half of protected‑area loss (47.85 km²) – and the Floresta Nacional do Jamanxim, which lost 3.45 km² after the Senate approved a law reducing its size. Brenda Brito, coordinator of Imazon’s Programme on Law and Sustainability, said: “A aprovação desse projeto mostra que o Congresso Nacional está legislando para favorecer um pequeno grupo de pessoas que invadiu ilegalmente essa unidade de conservação após sua criação, em 2006.”
The Brazilian government responded to the United States’ proposal to impose an additional 25% tariff on Brazilian products by labeling the accusation of illegal deforestation as “unjustified” and highlighting the ongoing decline in deforestation since 2023.