Trump’s China tariffs drive up Brazil soy farming and Amazon deforestation

China is expected to buy more soybeans from Brazil — accelerating forest loss in the Amazon and the Cerrado — as U.S. tariffs disrupt global agricultural trade.

Sarah Sax reports for The Atlantic.

In short:

A new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, including a 145 percent duty, has led China to redirect its soybean purchases from the U.S. to Brazil, potentially increasing deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes.
Brazilian right-wing governors are weakening environmental protections and attempting to void the Soy Moratorium, which has historically curbed Amazon deforestation linked to soy production.
Indigenous communities, such as the Munduruku, are facing environmental degradation and threats to land rights as soy plantations expand around their territories.

Key quote:

“The fact that the Amazon soy moratorium is actively being weakened right now, I think it puts Brazil at a really precarious place.”

— Lisa Rausch, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Why this matters:

Soy farming is a leading driver of deforestation in Brazil, especially in the Amazon and Cerrado regions — both critical carbon sinks for the planet. When forests are cleared, vast stores of carbon are released, worsening climate change. The recent spike in global demand for Brazilian soy, fueled by trade tensions between the U.S. and China, threatens to accelerate this deforestation. And it’s not just climate at risk: Indigenous communities, long-standing stewards of the forest, are losing access to clean water and land, while government leaders push to gut environmental regulations. These changes come at a time when enforcement in the Amazon remains weak, and land-clearing practices — often illegal — continue largely unchecked. If deforestation increases, the consequences extend far beyond Brazil: disrupted rainfall patterns could affect agriculture across South America, and the loss of biodiversity may prove irreversible.

www.theatlantic.com

Credit: Pierre Lemos / Unsplash+

Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species

In a recent review published in NPJ Emerging Contaminants, researchers examine how toxic chemicals can reduce fertility in both humans and wildlife, and how these effects are worsened by climate change.

In short:

Animals - including insects, fish, reptiles, birds, humans, and other mammals - are constantly simultaneously exposed to synthetic chemicals and the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures.
Both of these stressors can harm fertility, and many of the impacts found are similar across species, such as effects on sperm and eggs.
The stress caused by these exposures also impacts overall health, harming animals’ ability to adapt to a changing environment and worsening global biodiversity loss.

Key quote:

“To build a sustainable future, we must recognize that chemicals, once released, don’t simply disappear. Instead, they contribute to the larger issue of driving humanity towards the exceedance of planetary boundaries when considered in combination with climate change and other planetary-level impacts.”

Why this matters:

While climate change and toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are both individually well-established as health threats, few studies have examined the implications of the widespread simultaneous exposure experienced by humans and wildlife. Many EDCs can also impact health across multiple generations, meaning their harm continues long after the original exposure. To better tackle the issue of EDCs, the authors of this study emphasize the need for strong regulations that address chemicals by class, rather than individually.

Related EHN coverage:

Declining PFAS levels in seabird eggs reflect impact of regulatory action
Op-ed: A stalled global plastic treaty threatens our future fertility (written by two of the lead authors of the above study)

More resources:

ChemTrust: Wildlife and the environment – Endocrine disruptors
Stockholm Resilience Center: Planetary Boundaries: The safe operating space for humanity

Brander, S. et al. (2026). Impacts of environmental stressors on fertility and fecundity across taxa, with implications for planetary health. NPJ Emerging Contaminants.

Read the Full Article on

www.ehn.org

Trump’s China tariffs drive up Brazil soy farming and Amazon deforestation

Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species

Hope is contagious and science is king: 10 big lessons on ending the fossil fuel era

The SEC tried to silence activist investors. Now they're fighting back

With promises of money, controversial gas pipeline on Navajo Nation passes first hurdle

Congress once shielded gun makers. Now it’s fossil fuel companies’ turn

Western lawmakers move to weaken Clean Air Act and shield fossil fuel companies from climate lawsuits

States are demanding property insurance records to study climate change

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Pennsylvania health advocates say Trump’s first 100 days in office have caused “100 harms” to local communities

“They're terrorizing these scientists because they want to keep them silent.”

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.