Boeing has issued the following statement following House approval of legislation establishing Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with Russia.

"Boeing congratulates members of the House for working together to approve legislation that will enable American companies and workers to reap the economic benefits of a more open, fast-growing Russian market.

By establishing permanent normal trade relations with Russia, U.S. companies large, medium and small will be able to fully take advantage of the significant concessions Russia made earlier this year to join the World Trade Organization.

"For Boeing, that means locking in Russia's commitment to lower its tariffs on commercial airplanes - a vital step to enabling our 80,000 U.S. commercial airplane workers to compete in that important market.

Over the next 20 years, we expect Russian airlines to purchase nearly 900 new commercial airplanes valued at approximately $100 billion.

"Boeing joins the rest of the U.S. business community in urging the Senate to follow suit in the days ahead by approving Russia PNTR legislation.

"The governments of 155 other trading nations already have normalized trade relations with Russia.

"Our government must do likewise to ensure that American exporters and their employees have the same advantages as their foreign competitors when doing business in Russia."