Brasilia - Following an agreement with the government, the provisional measure (MP) that tightens the rules for compliance with the minimum freight rate was approved in the Senate plenary on Tuesday afternoon, July 14. However, even so, the business sector will resume its strategy to overturn the freight rate regulation in the Supreme Federal Court ( STF ).
The provisional measure risked expiring if it wasn't voted on by next Thursday, the 16th, when it loses its validity. But party leaders – including those from the Executive branch – finalized the last details of the agreement reached late last night at the home of the Senate president, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), according to sources present at the meeting who spoke to NeoFeed .
However, business entities remain opposed to the "minimum freight rate." The mechanism has been in effect in the country since 2018, after then-former President Michel Temer sanctioned a law to that effect as a way to curb the truckers' strike at the time.
Since then, business confederations such as CNI (industry), CNA (agribusiness), and CNT (transport) have filed a direct action of unconstitutionality (ADIN), alleging that the fixed freight rate is unconstitutional because it violates the free market. The rapporteur, Minister Luiz Fux, even attempted a conciliation, but the initiative was in vain and the process is still ongoing in the Supreme Court.
Sources in the business sector who actively participated in negotiations with the National Congress regarding the Provisional Measure revealed to NeoFeed that the new minimum freight rate, even stricter than the current one, has rekindled the need within the productive sector for a new legal offensive in the Supreme Court, which is currently stalled.
Trade associations, industry and agribusiness groups, among others, agreed to vote on the measure starting today, as a possible alternative at the moment to save the provisional measure, which would expire if it were not approved by the senators – the Chamber had already approved the text in plenary in June.
The temporary consensus surrounding the provisional measure also arose because the threat of a new general strike by truck drivers still exists. The category is even continuing its strikes in Santos to this day, as well as in other locations across Brazil.
Nevertheless, large industries and companies in the agricultural sector do not hide their dissatisfaction with the issue. The Provisional Measure toughens the application of fines for non-compliance with the Minimum Freight Law, which mandates adjustments to the road freight rate table whenever fuel prices fluctuate by 5% more or less.
Resistance
What has generated the most resistance from the private sector in recent weeks is the report by Congressman Zé Trovão (PL-SC), a former truck driver and member of the rural caucus in Congress.
His text further toughened the original version submitted by the government to provide for a minimum wage of R$ 5,000 per month for truck drivers who work long distances, in addition to amnesty for fines applied to drivers who blocked highways in protests after the defeat of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) in the 2022 elections.
Following an agreement and amendments in plenary session by rapporteur Styvenson Valentim (Rede-RN) and the actions of Senator and former Minister of Agriculture, Tereza Cristina (PP-MS), the Senate approved the Provisional Measure without the minimum wage amount, understanding that it dealt with a "matter extraneous" to the original text submitted by the government.
Business entities argued that the minimum wage, if included in the new law, would mean an average increase of 10.5% in the price of road freight in Brazil and an impact on the overall inflation indicator (IPCA).
