The recent sanction imposed by the United States government on Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, under the Global Magnitsky Act, has generated diverse reactions in Brazil. Although the measure targeted a specific authority, I see the signals it sends: relations between Brazil and the U.S. have entered an unprecedented zone of tension.

It is essential to recognize that violations of human rights and due process must be confronted, in accordance with applicable legal and international principles. No solid democracy can tolerate institutional abuses. However, the path to legitimate accountability cannot be the escalation of conflict between strategic nations—especially in a moment of global geopolitical fragility.

Brazil and the United States are two of the largest economies in the Americas, sharing decades of commercial, technological, scientific, and cultural integration. Weakening or severing these ties serves no one’s interest—not governments, not citizens, and not companies. And it is precisely at this point that the business sector of both countries must exercise its historic role of leadership and moderation.

Over the past decades, companies have become central actors in international institutional stability. They finance innovation, create jobs, drive global supply chains, and ensure the circulation of goods, capital, and knowledge. When conflicts between states intensify, it is businesses—and consequently, societies—that pay the price first.

The risks are easy to foresee: possible economic sanctions, trade barriers, unilateral contract terminations, financial exclusions, or even currency restrictions. Scenarios that would affect everyone—from multinationals with an international presence to small and medium-sized enterprises dependent on technology or exposed to the global financial system. The very notion of legal predictability and institutional security, so critical to the business environment, begins to erode.

Therefore, it is urgent for Brazilian and American business leaders to organize and act to protect stability in bilateral relations. This is not about taking political sides, but about affirming essential values: legality, institutional balance, respect for international rules, and sustainable economic development.

The private sector can—and must—exert constructive pressure on governments, warning that a rupture between two significant nations would have global repercussions. Polarization, isolation, and reciprocal sanctions do not build prosperity; they only deepen mistrust, disrupt trade flows, and slow down economies already under pressure from recent crises.

Preserving stability between Brazil and the United States is preserving the very international system of cooperation. May the business sector rise to its historic role once again, acting as a force for balance, dialogue, and the future.