Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed on Wednesday, June 5, the law that creates a minimum freight table for cargo transport and put a hard line through the amnesty that would have helped truck drivers who blocked highways in 2022. The new rule also keeps penalties in place for anyone who ignores the floor.
The law matters now because it changes the price floor for road freight immediately, and it does so with teeth. If fuel prices move 5% or more, the freight table must be adjusted within three business days. The service must also be registered in advance through the CIOT, a step meant to tie each trip to the minimum price and make it easier to track compliance. When an operation is found below the floor, sanctions can include suspension or cancellation of the RNTRC and a fine of up to R$ 1 million.
The measure comes from the MP do Frete and turns a political fight into a regulatory one. Lula also said in public that truck drivers keep the country moving, but his signature did not extend to the protections some lawmakers tried to add. He vetoed the amnesty for the drivers who shut down roads in 2022, a clause inserted by Zé Trovão in the Câmara as a jabuti, and he also struck language that would have softened sanctions by turning some penalties into warnings.
That is where the new law draws its line. It preserves A ANTT's role in adjusting fuel-related prices and in enforcing the minimum freight rules, while removing the flexibility that would have diluted punishment for violations and excess-weight offenses. The result is a stricter regime for cargo transport, not a softer one, and the vetoes make that plain before the first enforcement cycle even begins.
What remains unclear is not whether the rule exists, but how quickly it will bite in practice. A new tariff floor, a fuel trigger, mandatory CIOT registration and the threat of a fine up to R$ 1 million give inspectors a wider toolkit, yet the law does not spell out a public timetable for the day-to-day rollout. For truckers and transporters, the message is already set: the floor is real, the amnesty is gone, and the next freight contract will be written under tougher terms.
