Brazil freight rate bill gets congressional nod

Brazil's lower house of congress passed a bill to create new national minimum freight rates for the trucking industry, defying opposition from the country's agricultural and industrial sectors.

The bill, which now moves to the senate, was presented by the government as a concession in late May to end an 11-day truckers' strike that crippled transport across Brazil.

If passed in the senate and signed by Brazilian president Michel Temer, the bill would turn an existing presidential decree into law, creating minimum freight rates that would be adjusted every six months by the highway transport regulator (ANTT).

The bill would make it illegal to negotiate contracts with trucking companies below the rates set by the ANTT.

In its current form, the bill also grants the possibility of amnesty from fines imposed on trucking companies during the May strike, but Temer would likely veto this amendment because it is deemed to infringe on the jurisdiction of the judiciary.

Truckers' unions demanded the new freight rates become law or threatened to resume their strike.

Industry and farm groups have been aggressively lobbying against the new rates that they say substantially raise transport costs, which will ultimately be passed on to consumers.