Reuters exclusively reports Brazil rethinking huge defence deal in major strategic shift

Reuters delivered a strong exclusive from Brazil on Jan. 17 with news that the country’s new president, Dilma Rousseff, would delay a multi-billion dollar Air Force jet contract and re-evaluate the finalists’ bids. The move is a blow to France’s Dassault, which had appeared to have won the bidding war, and puts its U.S.-based rival Boeing clearly back in the running. The surprising policy shift, just weeks after Rousseff took over from her predecessor and mentor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, appears to show her trying to mend fences with the United States. Lula had preferred Dassault’s bid despite its higher cost and Rousseff’s decision to start over again on the massive contract includes asking for technology transfer guarantees from the U.S. Congress to bolster the Boeing bid.