VZCZCXRO9282
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #0076 0161820
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161820Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3357
INFO RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 7154
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 3400
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 8971

UNCLAS BRASILIA 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EEB/TRA, WHA/BSC, WHA/EPSC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR EINV ECON BR
SUBJECT: Brazil Civil Aviation: OPEN SKIES NEGOTIATIONS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
REF: A) BRASILIA 0016 B) BRASILIA 0169, C) BRASILIA 1160 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The president of Brazil's Agency for Civil 
Aviation Regulation (ANAC), Solange Paiva Vieira, has agreed to 
launch dialogues leading towards Open Skies (OS) negotiations with 
the US in 2009. During a recent meeting with Ambassador Sobel, 
Vieira commented that an OS agreement would augment ANAC's 
priorities of increasing competition in Brazil's civil aviation 
sector and protecting the interests of the consumer. She advised 
that the negotiations would be managed by ANAC Director Renaldo 
Seroa da Motta, and instructed that he be contacted to work out the 
procedural details of OS negotiations. In consultations with da 
Motta, he has indicated his readiness to move forward to set the 
stage for OS negotiations, focusing first on removing obstacles 
prior to formally entering negotiations.  End summary. 
 
ANAC'S CHALLENGE 
---------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In a meeting with Ambassador Sobel, Vieira confirmed ANAC's 
agreement to begin OS negotiations with the United States in 2009 
and has appointed ANAC Director Da Motta, who represented ANAC 
during the bilateral negotiations in 2008, to lead ANAC's 
negotiation team. Vieira suggested that the first OS negotiation 
could take place as soon as March of 2009, but deferred to Director 
Da Motta in deciding an appropriate timetable.  Vieira said that an 
OS agreement with the United States would create increased airline 
competition and airfare liberalization, while providing greater 
airport operation efficiencies and lower airfares.  She pointed to 
these important societal benefits and stressed ANAC's need to focus 
its public relations attention accordingly. Vieira suggested that 
due to strong opposition from Brazilian domestic carriers, an OS 
agreement may require two sets of meetings that take place over 2 
years. According to Vieira, concluding OS negotiations in a timely 
manner will depend on how effectively ANAC addresses domestic 
carrier resistance.  ANAC has already begun this campaign through 
various TV interviews, newspaper interviews, and public hearings. 
 
OS FORMAT 
--------- 
 
¶3. (U) Following the Ambassador's meeting with Vieira, Econoff met 
with ANAC director Ronaldo Seroa Da Motta at Vieira's suggestion to 
discuss OS negotiation procedures. Franklin Hoyer, ANAC's 
Superintendent of International Relations, and Clarissa Costa de 
Barros, Da Motta's technical manager, also attended the meeting. Da 
Motta expressed his support for an OS agreement between the United 
States and Brazil, stating that ANAC had done considerable internal 
analysis relating to OS benefits as a lead up to their EU 
negotiations and are convinced that OS are in Brazil's best 
interests. Da Motta stressed the importance of direct formal 
communication between ANAC and State Department's aviation 
negotiation office (EEB/TRA) in order to begin OS negotiations.  Da 
Motta said that the first step would be for EEB/TRA to communicate 
their interest in beginning a dialogue on OS directly to Hoyer and 
Da Motta. Da Motta added that the contact should also contain any 
available Brazilian market OS impact studies and a Portuguese 
language version of the OS template. Favoring a judicious approach 
leading up to the OS negotiations, Da Motta emphasized the 
importance of resolving disagreements and clarifying positions with 
the civil aviation negotiation team before setting a formal date to 
begin negotiations. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: An OS agreement with the United States is just one 
of the measures the Brazilian authorities are considering to 
liberalize the, until recently, very closed aviation market in 
Brazil.  On the heels of our successful bilateral negotiations to 
increase frequencies in 2008, post believes this is the optimal time 
to move towards OS.  It appears that with Vieira and her 
pro-liberalization ANAC staff, Brazil has the right team in place to 
move forward now.  While we should respect ANAC's desire to lay the 
groundwork carefully to ensure successful negotiations, we should 
make the most of this opportunity and respond quickly to their 
information requests and enable them to prepare their domestic 
constituencies.  Post has communicated Da Motta's requests to the 
civil aviation negotiation team and has received their positive 
response to engaging directly and substantively with ANAC.  Mission 
Brazil is prepared to assist in any way possible as we move towards 
this important policy goal.  End Comment. 
 
SOBEL