Embraer does not see Donald Trump’s election as a setback for its efforts to introduce the C-390 Millennium military plane in the United States, the head of the Brazilian plane maker’s defense and security division told Reuters.
The company sees the United States as a key market for its military cargo plane — along with India, the European Union and Saudi Arabia — and has hired consulting firm Oliver Wyman to help it explore the local defense market. .
Trump, who will succeed US President Joe Biden in January, has presented protectionist ideas, including aggressive changes to US trade policies, such as a tariff of 10% or more on all products imported into the country.
But Embraer believes there is a gap in the U.S. military fleet that the C-390 could fill, and hopes that local U.S. content and a possible U.S. assembly line will help convince the world’s largest economy of the merits of the C-390. plane.
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“The KC-390 is already a ‘Buy American Act compliant’ product, that is, it reaches the required percentages of American content,” said Bosco da Costa Junior, head of Embraer’s defense and security division, in an interview on Sunday .
“We welcome Trump’s second term. I think Embraer can play a super important role in some segments where we clearly see a gap in the United States”, he said. “Nothing changes in our strategy towards the United States.”
He noted that the Brazilian plane maker has a long-standing relationship with the US, including the sale of commercial and executive jets.
North American passenger airlines are major buyers of Embraer regional jets, and the Phenom 300 executive jet is the most used aircraft in the country, with an assembly plant located in Melbourne, Florida.
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“Our products, in general, have a huge American content, that is, each Embraer plane sold generates taxes, generates jobs and generates investment in the United States”, added Costa.
Embraer’s defense and security division also has a presence in the country, which operates its Super Tucano light attack aircraft. The company has a production line for the turboprop plane in Jacksonville, Florida.
The establishment of a C-390 final assembly line in the US is a possibility, depending on the evolution of sales, Costa said, adding that Embraer’s objective was not to replace any aircraft in operation, but rather to add capabilities to the US Armed Forces. .
The C-390 could be suitable for the United States Marine Corps, Air Force and special forces, according to Embraer. A US delegation examined the plane during a multinational training exercise organized by Brazil last week, Costa said.
The C-390, which has been chosen by NATO countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Portugal, Hungary and the Czech Republic for their fleets, typically competes with Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules plane.
