Copa Aids U.S. Export Initiative, Signs Up for 22 Boeings

Panama’s Copa Airlines will add 22 Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet for $1.7 billion with an option to buy 10 additional planes, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“As we continue to grow our economy in the U.S., sales like these will help us reach President Obama’s National Export Initiative goal of doubling exports by 2015 and creating several million new jobs,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said at the signing of the contract in Washington on Tuesday.

Panama Vice President Juan Carlos Varela was also in attendance and again naturally stressed the importance of business ties between Panama and the United States, saying he hoped the U.S. would ratify a pending bilateral trade accord which has been stalled in Congress.

By the end of this year, Copa’s fleet will grow to 63 aircraft, 37 of which will be Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft.  Most of the 2011 expansion is timed for the May completion of a new Tocumen International Airport terminal.

In somewhat related news, Panama’s banking secrecy laws are no longer an attractions for U.S. citizens.  Panama and the U.S. also signed a tax information exchange agreement on Tuesday which U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says heralds “a new era of openness and transparency” between the two nations.