Spying scandal sets back U.S. chances for fighter jet sale to Brazil

By Anthony Boadle and Alonso Soto

BRASILIA (Reuters) - U.S. hopes of clinching a coveted deal worth more than $4 billion to sell 36 fighter jets to Brazil have suffered a setback with recent revelations that the United States collected data on Brazilian Internet communications.

When U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry sits down with Brazilian officials in Brasilia on Tuesday to prepare a state visit to the White House by President Dilma Rousseff, the sale of the warplanes will not be on the agenda, a Brazilian source said.

"We cannot talk about the fighters now ... You cannot give such a contract to a country that you do not trust," a high-level Brazilian government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

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