Brazil, Vietnam discuss plane, beef deals and BRICS summit

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday Vietnam may buy Embraer planes and become a regional hub for Brazilian meat processing operations, as he met Vietnam's President Luong Cuong in Hanoi. Lula also recognised the Communist-run country as a market economy, invited Vietnam to attend a BRICS summit in Brazil later this year and pledged a Mercosur trade agreement with Hanoi. Lula's second visit to Vietnam comes as Hanoi, under pressure from the Trump administration to reduce its large trade surplus, has promised to boost U.S. imports, including farm products such as soybeans of which Brazil is a top exporter to the country. Lula also said he was aware that flagship carrier Vietnam Airlines was "positively assessing Embraer's offer" for regional jets, noting Brazil wanted to export planes to Hanoi. The Brazilian planemaker is in talks for the possible sale of ten E190 narrow-body jets to Vietnam Airlines, one Brazilian official told Reuters last week. The two companies did not comment. Embraer and JBS are part of a large business delegation accompanying Lula on his trip to Vietnam.<br/>