Brazil Senate approves freight minimum rate MP, drops R$5k driver wage floor

On 14 July 2026 the Brazilian Senate approved the provisional measure MP 1.343/2026 that sets a mandatory minimum freight rate for road cargo and requires every transport operation to be registered through the CIOT system. The measure strengthens ANTT’s oversight, introduces a semi‑annual update of the freight table and imposes penalties of up to R$ 1 million, suspension or cancellation of transport licences for companies that pay below the floor. A provision that had created a national R$ 5,000 monthly wage floor for long‑distance truck drivers was removed after senators deemed it unconstitutional; the wage level will now be set by collective bargaining. The text also keeps an amnesty for fines issued to truck drivers who blocked highways after the 2022 elections, a clause that the Lula administration is expected to veto. Additional provisions expand the Procargas programme for fleet renewal and modernisation, and amend four articles of the Brazilian Traffic Code related to weight checks, tacógrafo use and vehicle transport. The approval came just before the measure’s expiry date, and the bill now heads to presidential sanction.