“According to section 517 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (22 U.S.C. 2321k), I am notifying my intention to designate Brazil as a Major Non-NATO Ally.
I am making this designation in recognition of the Brazilian Government’s recent commitments to increase defense cooperation with the United States, and in recognition of our own national interest in deepening our defense coordination with Brazil,” stated Trump.
Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the United States government to close allies that have strategic working relationships with the U.S. Armed Forces but are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While the status does not automatically include a mutual defense pact with the United States, it confers a variety of military and financial advantages that would not otherwise be available to non-NATO countries.
The benefits of this new designation for Brazil include closer coordination on military missions, the ability to host U.S. war reserve stocks, expedited access to sensitive technologies, collaboration on defense technology research and development, more joint military exercises and training, and preferential access to purchase U.S. military equipment.
Brazil is the 18th country to receive this designation.
The following countries are designated as Major Non-NATO Allies: Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Tunisia.
Trump is also evaluating the possibility of making Brazil a NATO member.
NATO would have to invite Brazil to join. Currently, the only Latin American nation affiliated with NATO is Colombia, which has become one of the alliance’s “global partners,” meaning it would not necessarily have to participate in military actions.
NATO may consider the possibility of other Latin American countries joining Colombia as partners of the alliance, said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“Until 2017, NATO had no partners in Latin America, and in 2017 we got our first partner, Colombia, and being a close partner of NATO is good for NATO and for the partner country,” the NATO leader told Reuters.
“So, of course, it is possible to consider the possibility of other Latin American countries becoming partners, which provides a platform, a framework for close political and practical cooperation,” he stated.
NATO membership is currently limited to countries in Western Europe, Turkey, Canada, and the United States, although NATO partner countries include Australia and New Zealand, as well as non-European members Sweden and Finland.
“Partners are not members. But they are very close partners. We work very closely with them, practically and politically, and this is a great way to strengthen cooperation with NATO and countries that are not members of the alliance,” Stoltenberg added.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has earned the nickname Trump of the Tropics and has sought to align closely with Trump’s style and policies. The Brazilian leader echoed Trump’s attack line of “fake news” against the press, and his campaign slogan “Brazil First” also mirrored Trump’s “America First.”