Longer deadline for reviewing Ports Law is seen as positive, associations says

Port sector associations have positively assessed the 90 day extension for the work of the Legal Experts Committee for the Review of Ports and Port Facilities Exploitation Law (Ceportos), which will produce a report to update the Ports Law (12,815/2013).

Jesualdo Conceição da Silva, president of the Brazilian Association of Port Terminals (ABTP), believes that the extension is important for a better analysis of the contributions submitted to the committee. "We want to make the sector more flexible so that investments can be made according to demand".

Caio Morel, executive director of the Brazilian Association of Container Terminals (Abratec), says that the deadline extension is justifiable given the complexity and scope of the proposals. "We have not yet received feedback from Ceportos on our proposals, but the very extension of the deadline indicates a thorough analysis by the committee".

Morel also highlighted that it is "an excellent opportunity for improving Law 12,815/2013 for the continued growth and development of the port sector".

Murillo Barbosa, chairman of the Association of Private Port Terminals (ATP), sees the extension as crucial for allowing more time to analyze the work. "After all, the predominant topic in the National Congress, which is also of great importance, is tax reform. With this extension, we will have more time to work on our proposals and have more meetings with the committee members".

Until November

Ceportos was officially created on December 23, 2023, with the publication of the act in the Official Gazette and was initially given a 180 day deadline (excluding recess periods), which was to end on August 8th. With the extension granted by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), the committee is now expected to complete its work by November, when a draft bill must be submitted.

The committee was established with the goal of reviewing and updating the legal framework that regulates the direct and indirect exploitation by the Union of Brazilian ports and port facilities. The 15 member committee was subdivided into three thematic subcommittees to discuss bureaucratization and lease simplification, port decarbonization and labor issues.

According to Ceportos' rapporteur, judge Celso Ricardo Peel Furtado de Oliveira from the Regional Labor Court of the 2nd Region (TRT-2), the committee's president, minister Douglas Alencar Rodrigues, of the Superior Court (TST), requested the extension “considering the number of contributions received from civil society. Especially from professional and employers’ entities in the port sector, so that we could address all the questions raised”.

Oliveira explained that the deadline extension was motivated by the complexity of the entire task. “To ensure that we present the best project for the Brazilian port sector, respecting free enterprise and the value of human labor”.

The rapporteur further clarified that Ceportos is holding internal meetings of each subcommittee to prepare partial reports. “In these meetings, the issues inherent to each group are discussed and suggestions for changes to the current legislation are developed”.

According to Peel, the committee holds one meeting per month, with the next one scheduled for August 19th. “We will host a major event at the TST where several experts will be heard”.