By Brian Winter
São Paulo: The Obama administration has overcome the abrupt cancellation of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff's state visit to Washington in 2013 to invite her again.
It's a diplomatic breakthrough that both sides hope will lead over time to greater trade between the two biggest economies in the Americas.
Brazil President Dilma Rousseff.Credit: Reuters
The leftist leader is on her second-term at the helm of the South American nation, although personal support for her has quickly dropped, with a poll this week finding the majority of Brazilians favour her impeachment.
Rousseff had originally been scheduled to make a state visit, which involves a black-tie dinner at the White House and is considered the strongest expression of friendly ties between allies, in October 2013.
But she canceled the trip after she was angered by revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Brazil and on her personal communications. She said it was "incompatible" with a relationship among allies.
The dust-up led one former top aide to President Barack Obama to describe Brazil and the US as "two countries that just fundamentally don't understand each other".
Yet, after more than a year of efforts by both sides to heal relations, Vice President Joe Biden re-extended the invitation to Rousseff in a phone call on March 13, sources with knowledge of the conversation told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Biden offered Rousseff a choice between a state visit in 2016 or a high-profile but less formal trip this year, the sources said, since this year's calendar of state visits is already considered full with leaders from Japan and China.
Rousseff will discuss the timing of the visit with Obama when the two leaders meet on the sidelines of a summit in Panama next month, a senior Brazilian official said on Tuesday.
The invitation for a state visit, which would be the first by a Brazilian leader to Washington since 1995, is a rare piece of positive news for Rousseff.
Her popularity has tumbled due to a huge corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras, of which she was chairwoman from 2004 to 2010, and an economy that has struggled since a long boom last decade.
Despite Rousseff's problems, and a relatively thin policy agenda for her visit at present, US officials believe a strong demonstration of support for Brazil will eventually unlock greater access to its $US2.2 trillion ($2.7 trillion) economy, which is about 75 per cent bigger than Mexico's.
"While our relations have sometimes been rocky, we're betting on Brazil to succeed and grow in importance," a senior US official said, calling Brazil "a key global actor".
Rousseff has said she hoped a visit will lead to a closer defence relationship, including technology transfers that could help Brazilian companies like plane manufacturer Embraer. She is also keen for greater access for Brazilian beef to the US market, an official said.
The two countries have disagreed in recent years about some hot-button foreign policy issues, with Brazil for the most part declining to join Washington in its criticism of Venezuela's left-wing government, for example.
But economic ties have continued to grow unabated.
The US consulate in São Paulo issues more visas than any other US mission abroad, with roughly 600,000 in 2014, nearly double the number seen in 2010. Diplomats often joke that Brazilian travelers single-handedly revived the economies of Miami and Orlando in recent years.
Bilateral trade totaled $US72 billion in 2014, up 20 per cent from 2010, with a $US12 billion surplus in favor of the United States, according to the US Department of Commerce. The US is Brazil's second-biggest export market behind China.
Meanwhile, Brazilian officials have spoken of a renewed emphasis on trade, especially with the US, as a way to stir the economy from its recent funk. Its new trade minister, Armando Monteiro, went to Washington in February for his first trip abroad in the job.
"Our countries' private sectors are way ahead of the public sectors in terms of integration," said Susan Segal, president of Council of the Americas. She said a state visit would be "a great development".
Reuters