The Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, visited Brasília at the end of June for bilateral meetings with Brazilian President Michel Temer and other government officials.
One of the original objectives of Pence’s trip to Brazil was to strengthen trade relations between the two nations. However, negotiations regarding a possible authorization from Brazil to allow the US to use the Brazilian Alcântara base in the Northeast of the country were also on the agenda.
According to Bloomberg, negotiations on the commercial use by the US of the rocket launch site in Brazil are progressing. No final agreement was reached during the meeting, but concessions were made on both sides, and things are moving forward positively.
“The proximity of Alcântara to the equator makes it cheaper to launch rockets. The base could generate revenue of up to $1.5 billion per year, according to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense. All previous attempts to commercially exploit the base have failed. In 2015, Brazil ended a partnership with Ukraine to develop a launch vehicle at Alcântara, citing financial problems in Ukraine. A previous cooperation with the US was rejected by Congress due to alleged violations of national sovereignty,” Bloomberg stated.