Legal uncertainty regarding freight pricing needs to be remo

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SpaccaThe institution of the minimum price policy for road freight transport by Provisional Measure 832, of May 27, 2018, to overcome the truck drivers' strike, initiated a political-legal movement, which has not yet been resolved. Despite the illegality and unfeasibility of prior price control, which violates the Constitution (principles of free enterprise and competition [1] ):



the dozens of legal actions filed, in the four corners of the country, are suspended, by decision of minister Luiz Fux, rapporteur at the STF of ADI 5.956/2018;

the requested information was received, and preliminary hearings and public hearings were held at the STF;

the aforementioned MP was quickly converted into Law 13,703/2018 and published in the DOU, dated August 9, 2018, with the following statement: “established the national policy of minimum floors for road freight transport”.

On the 25th, the Center for Economic and Social Law (Cedes) held a scientific table on price pricing and impacts on business, attended by Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva (STJ); professors José Inácio Gonzaga Franceschini, Luiz Fernando do Vale de Almeida Guilherme and Rodrigo Dufloth; Helcio Honda (legal director of Fiesp), Erika Scaffa (Whilrpool), Alberto Nobre Mendes (CNI) and André Nassar (president of the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries – Abiove).



From the presentations of this group, differentiated in its origins and objectives, the following points were extracted:



1. Origin of the movement

The remote origin of the problem dates B2B Lead back to the country's internalization by land, which began in 1930, with the progressive abandonment of other modes. The closest origin was the economic crisis, with the loss of jobs, the incentive to purchase trucks, with credits subsidized by BNDES, which generated an imbalance between supply and demand; and the fuel price policy, with the aim of recovering Petrobras.



The truck drivers' movement took shape through networks and WhatsApp, with practically no defined leadership; and without there being a demand for tabulation, a flag adopted by the government. Bodies like CNI and Fiesp never supported this path. The mobilization of federations, unions, industries and associations was intense against the attempt to establish the public policy in question, which even resulted in dozens of legal actions, based on the unconstitutionality of the table.







2. Cade's statement to the STF

Cade's statement, in compliance with Minister Luiz Fux's determination, was more consistent than that of the AGU, which, as a duty of office, had to defend the MP. That manifestation, in addition to touching on specific points of the issue, presented abstract reasons for competition problems caused by the tabulation, included in the item below: “Negative aspects of the legislation”.



3. Cartelization typified as a crime

The MP, in the process of fixing prices, foresees the competition of interested segments, stimulating a culture of tabulation, which has existed in Brazil for decades and from which it was difficult to get rid of. However, the cartel cannot be forgotten as a crime against the economic order (Law 8,137/1990, article 4, items I and II).