((and Brazil is not the only country who is upset...reference the German helicopter flyover of our embassy in a recent post. Personally, I don't see where we feel we have the 'right' or 'duty' to spy on every communication in the entire world, let alone the obligation to share all of this info with other countries like England and Israel...?--alexis.....))
Brazil did not take it lightly when it found out that the U.S. National Security Agency had been spying on official correspondence, calls and emails from the Brazilian government. President Dilma Rousseff, whose cell phone had been tapped by the spy agency, asked for explanations and an apology from President Barack Obama, while Brazilian diplomats called the surveillance an “attack on sovereignty.”
But the NSA operation revealed by leaker Edward Snowden might have damaged more than relations between the two biggest economies in the Americas. It might also have put in jeopardy a $4 billion deal for fighter jets that was, until recently, almost a done deal for Boeing (NYSE:BA).
Brazil is in the market for 36 new fighter jets to modernize its air force. The order was hotly contested by the world’s major aircraft producers, and a three-way final round ended in America’s favor with the planned purchase of the F-18 Super Hornet from Boeing. The Chicago-based aviation giant was the clear favorite of Brazil’s government, over the Rafale made by France’s Dassault (EPA:AM), which was former President Luiz Inácio da Silva’s choice, and the JAS-39 Gripen NG from Sweden’s Saab (STO:SAAB-B). A visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Brazil earlier this year was widely considered as having sealed the deal for Boeing.
But as news broke that the NSA had been monitoring not only the Brazilian government but also oil giant Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), rumors began swirling that Brasília might not want to pursue the deal. “You cannot give such a contract to a country that you do not trust,” Reuters quoted a source close to the jet fighter negotiations as saying.
Brazil did not take it lightly when it found out that the U.S. National Security Agency had been spying on official correspondence, calls and emails from the Brazilian government. President Dilma Rousseff, whose cell phone had been tapped by the spy agency, asked for explanations and an apology from President Barack Obama, while Brazilian diplomats called the surveillance an “attack on sovereignty.”
But the NSA operation revealed by leaker Edward Snowden might have damaged more than relations between the two biggest economies in the Americas. It might also have put in jeopardy a $4 billion deal for fighter jets that was, until recently, almost a done deal for Boeing (NYSE:BA).
Brazil is in the market for 36 new fighter jets to modernize its air force. The order was hotly contested by the world’s major aircraft producers, and a three-way final round ended in America’s favor with the planned purchase of the F-18 Super Hornet from Boeing. The Chicago-based aviation giant was the clear favorite of Brazil’s government, over the Rafale made by France’s Dassault (EPA:AM), which was former President Luiz Inácio da Silva’s choice, and the JAS-39 Gripen NG from Sweden’s Saab (STO:SAAB-B). A visit by Vice President Joe Biden to Brazil earlier this year was widely considered as having sealed the deal for Boeing.
But as news broke that the NSA had been monitoring not only the Brazilian government but also oil giant Petrobras (NYSE:PBR), rumors began swirling that Brasília might not want to pursue the deal. “You cannot give such a contract to a country that you do not trust,” Reuters quoted a source close to the jet fighter negotiations as saying.
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