Embraer says US eases Venezuela jet sales rules

 Washington has given Brazil a green light to sell commercial jets with U.S parts to Venezuela but has not eased rules blocking the sale of weapons to the OPEC nation, aircraft maker Embraer said on Thursday.

The United States prohibits its arms manufacturers from selling to the government of President Hugo Chavez, which it sees as a threat to regional security. In 2006 Washington blocked the sale of Embraer Super Tucano training planes due to their use of U.S. parts.

Luis Fernando Lopes, Embraer’s regional sales director, said the company had previously been blocked from selling its commercial planes to Venezuela because they included a U.S. communication system.

“The military embargo had not eased at all,” Lopez told Reuters. “What it allows us now is to sell commercial aviation with U.S. technology.”

Lopes said Embraer was in talks to sell four Venezuelan airlines about 20 planes including several Embraer 190 and Embraer 195 jets, with a total value of around $700 million. (Reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel, Editing by Sandra Maler)