This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 18, 2011 - WASHINGTON - When President Barack Obama travels to Brazil this weekend, one of the many items on his agenda eventually could have an impact on thousands of aerospace workers in St. Louis.Aside from signing agreements on topics such as patents and scientific cooperation Obama and Brazil's president, Dilma Vana Rousseff, are expected to discuss opportunities for American companies in Brazil - and for Brazilian firms in this country.
One of the U.S. companies with a potentially huge interest in those discussions is Boeing Co., which has been trying to convince Brazil to buy 36 of its F/A-18 Super Hornets - made mostly in St. Louis - for Brazil's long-delayed F-X2 fighter aircraft program.
Such a deal seemed impossible as late as September 2009, when Brazil's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, announced his preference for the Rafale fighter made by France's Dassault aerospace firm. The next-generation F-X2 aircraft would replace Brazil's aging fleet of French Mirage fighters, U.S.-made F-5 Tigers and Italian-made jets.
But Rousseff re-opened the bidding for the F-X2 program after she was elected last fall as Brazil's first female president. And she reportedly told U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently that she regards the F/A-18 Super Hornet as the best fighter aircraft among the three finalists, which include France's Rafale and an aircraft manufactured by Sweden's Saab.
But there is a major catch to the potential deal, which media reports have said could amount to $6 billion. Brazil wants the U.S. government to authorize transfers of some proprietary technology that would eventually help Brazil develop its defense industry. According to some reports, the Brazilians also want to sell some of their own military transport aircraft to the U.S. military.
"We're told that President Rousseff is now reviewing all of the [fighter jet] proposals," with a decision likely sometime this year, said Marcia B. Costley, a spokeswoman for Boeing Co. in Los Angeles. While Boeing was not initially in the running for the Brazil F-X modernization program, Costley told the Beacon on Friday that the F/A-18 was added as an option in 2008.
Obama is stopping in Brazil over the weekend as part of a three-country, four-day visit to Latin America. During his talks with Rousseff on Saturday, he is expected to at least mention the F/A-18 Super Hornet - along with other pending business deals and several other issues. Last year, Brazil was the eighth largest market for U.S. goods; a White House fact sheet highlights the potential for greater business ties between the two countries.
In an op-ed that appeared Friday in USA Today, Obama did not single out the F/A-18, but said he would focus on U.S. exports when he visits Brazil: "With around 200 million people, a growing middle class, and a per-capita income rising by almost 7 percent a year, Brazil imports more goods and services from the United States than from any other nation -- mainly high-tech, manufactured goods from aircraft to chemicals to clean energy components," Obama wrote.
One lawmaker who is trying to make sure that the two leaders discuss the F/A-18 bid is U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who sent letters to both Obama and Rousseff this week extolling the virtues of the Super Hornet and committing herself to support Brazil's request for key aerospace technologies as part of a deal.
In her letter to Brazil's president, McCaskill wrote that "the United States government stands fully behind the potential sale of F/A-18 Super Hornets, and select accompanying technology, to the Brazilian Air Force. This transaction is an important step forward in strengthening the relationship between our two countries...."
In a separate letter to Obama, McCaskill wrote: "It is my hope that in the course of your visit with Brazil's president ... you will emphasize to her the U.S. Government's strong support for Boeing's bid to bring the Super Hornet to Brazil."
The Missouri senator told Obama in her letter that a Super Hornet contract with Brazil "would support vital American jobs and small-business suppliers, strengthen our national defense industrial base and open yet another important market to American exports. I know that the dedicated men and women who work the F/A-18 line in St. Louis and dozens of Missouri suppliers are particularly eager to see this new partnership take hold with Brazil."
About 5,000 Boeing jobs in the St. Louis region are related to the F/A-18. The production line for the versatile, carrier-based fighter was secured through 2013 by the U.S. Navy's order - finalized last fall - of 124 Hornets. Boeing also has been trying to sell more of the Super Hornets overseas.
At a briefing for reporters this week, Dan Restrepo, the U.S. National Security Council's director for Western Hemisphere affairs, said that business and economic issues will be at the forefront of talks in Brazil, as will a discussion of Brazil's push to be named to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
Restrepo said "we look at Brazil and see an enormous potential for economic growth and a deepening economic cooperation. And so a lot of what we're going to be focused on [this weekend] is what are the steps that need to be taken to unlock that potential. There's been great growth; there's been a doubling of exports in the last five years," and Obama is interested in "opening doors for U.S. businesses to expand that type of cooperation."