President-elect Donald Trump says American ships are paying too much to pass through the Panama Canal. Trump said he is demanding lower tariffs, or Panama will have to return control of the canal to the U.S. Panama reacted angrily.
The Panama Canal is a major global trade route, allowing ships to sail from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea in about eight hours without going as far as Cape Horn. The US completed and inaugurated it in 1914 and transferred to Panama in 1999.
The US is the canal’s largest customer, accounting for three-quarters of the cargo yearly.
In a post on his social media channel Truth Social, Trump said Panama was charging “excessive” tariffs. “That rip-off will stop immediately,” he wrote. Otherwise, Trump said, “We will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, fully and without questions.”
Trump also suggests that China is exerting a growing influence on the canal. China is the canal’s second-largest customer after the US, and a Chinese company controls two of the Panama Canal’s five ports.
In response to Trump’s statements, Panamanian President José Raul Mulino said, “every square meter of the Panama Canal is part of Panama and will remain so.” Moreover, the Panama president added that the tariffs are not arbitrary but are set publicly and in a public hearing.