Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and President Obama used a joint White House appearance on Tuesday to show that the two leaders have gotten past Edward Snowden’s 2013 revelation that the U.S. was spying on Brazil, which led Rousseff to cancel an official U.S. visit two years ago.
“I did cancel my previous trip to the U.S.,” Rousseff said Tuesday through a translator. “Since then, some things have changed. And the change is particularly due to the fact that President Obama and the U.S. government have stated on several occasions that they would no longer engage in intrusive acts of spying on friendly countries.”
She added that Obama assured her that if he needed to know something sensitive, “he would just pick up the phone and call me.”
The two leaders met to solidify cooperation on a range of issues like trade, climate change and defense. Obama called Rousseff a reliable partner in the area of defense.
“She’s delivered on what’s she’s promised,” Obama said, citing two defense agreements the Brazilian congress passed last week as examples. “As someone who knows something about congresses … I know that’s never easy.”
The defense agreements allow for joint military training and exercises and technological information sharing in areas like biotechnology and air and space technology.
The two also unveiled commitments to use more renewable energy, outside of hydroelectric power. The hemisphere’s two largest democracies pledged to increase the amount of energy that comes from renewable sources 20 percent by 2030.
“These are very ambitious goals — a near tripling for the United States and more than double Brazil’s current output,” Obama said.
Since 2005, Washington and Brasilia have reduced carbon emissions more than any other countries, Obama said.
Brazil also pledged to reforest 12 million hectares — roughly the area of Pennsylvania — by 2030, and to eliminate illegal logging and land clearing in the rain forest.
“And we also wish to turn the page and engage in a clear-cut reforestation-oriented policy,” Rousseff said. “That is an extremely important point for Brazil, and it also reflects the commitment we ourselves have undertaken as part of the forest code in effect in Brazil.”
The two leaders announced “a series of steps” to strengthen bilateral trade. “Since I took office, we’ve boosted American exports to Brazil by more than 50 percent, and our bilateral trade has reached record levels, surpassing $100 billion a year,” he said.
“We’ll make it easier and more affordable for companies to hire workers in each other’s countries; we’ll do more to help our small- and medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs connect and collaborate and export and … we’ve agreed to increase partnerships between our colleges and universities,” Obama said.
The president also pointed out that Rousseff’s plan to invest $64 billion into infrastructure projects presents new opportunities for U.S. builders, contractors and companies.
Rousseff thanked Obama for signing a Social Security agreement that eliminates the need for dual Social Security contributions when a resident of one country works in another, which the White House says will save businesses more than $900 million during the first six years it’s in effect, and for coming to “a decision to facilitate entry of frequent travelers from Brazil into the United States as part of the global entry program.”
After two days in Washington, which included a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial with Obama, Rousseff heads to California to woo biotech, IT and air and space technology firms.
