Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had bad news for US President Barack Obama:  She is calling off plans to visit the White House next month because of revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on her personal communications and those of other Brazilians.

It would have been Obama’s only reception for an international leader this year.

Rousseff’s refusal came after a 20 minute phone call from Obama to Brasilia on Monday night.  Apparently, he didn’t close the deal.  White House spokesman Jay Carney later said the two Presidents agreed that the spying revelations would overshadow their meeting.  But any action taken by the US to address the problem will take months to implement.

The trip was expected to be the platform for major announcements about new US-Brazilian cooperation.  However, Brasilia appears to be backing away from a long-planned deal to buy US$4 Billion worth of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets as well as parts.  That major defense contract could now go to France or Sweden. 

The two largest economies of their hemisphere were also getting close to deals on oil exploration off Brazil’s coast, now seen as being on hold.