Senate Committee approves bill that creates new fuel pricing policy

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The Senate’s CAE (Committee on Economic Affairs) approved this Tuesday (7) a bill to try to contain the rise in the values ​​of fuels and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). In addition to creating a stabilization program, the proposal establishes a new price policy for the sale of these products. The text goes on to be voted on in the House’s plenary.

According to the project, the internal prices practiced by producers and importers of petroleum derivatives should be based on the average quotations on the international market, the internal production costs and the import costs.

Currently, Petrobras uses the international parity policy to price fuels in Brazil. For the author of the proposal, senator Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE), this has harmed the population and only benefited the company with profits.

“Petrobras currently follows the logic of a financialized company, through the pricing policy for derivatives based on import prices, passing on the gains to its shareholders. As it has competitive internal production costs, the current policy of Petrobras’ prices for oil products imply a high gross profit margin”, says Carvalho.

At another point, the text creates so-called “price bands” with the intention of avoiding abrupt variations. The mechanism would be regulated by the Executive Power and would consist of setting limits for price variation in a given period.

The band system would be made financially viable with the creation of the export tax on crude oil.

Thus, whenever prices exceed the band limit, the resources obtained by the new tax could be used to pay the price difference.

“Thus, when prices are low, the resources corresponding to the difference between the market price and the lower limit of the band are accumulated. In the opposite situation, when prices are above the upper limit of the band, the resources are used accordingly. to keep prices within the band”, explains the bill’s rapporteur, senator Jean Paul Prates (PT-RN).

Under the proposal, the export tax rate will be zeroed when a barrel of crude oil costs US$ 45 (R$ 255). If this amount is above US$45 and below US$85 (R$483), a minimum rate of 2.5% and a maximum of 7.5% may be applied.

If the barrel is traded between US$80 (R$454) and US$100 (R$568), the rate should vary between 7.5 and 12.5%. Above $100, the minimum percentage will be 12.5% ​​and the maximum 20%

Regarding the Stabilization Program, it will also have to be regulated by the Executive, which will define the form of use of resources and the parameters for reducing price volatility.

The initiative may have as its source the Export Tax levied on crude oil; the dividends from Petrobras owed to the Federal Government; government participations destined to the Union, resulting both from the concession regime and from the production sharing regime.

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