Panama’s president has responded to Donald Trump’s threat to restore US control over the Panama Canal, saying its shipping tolls are not inflated and that sovereignty over the waterway is non-negotiable.
“Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas is part of Panama and will continue to be so,” said President José Raúl Mulino in a video statement on the social platform X.
Message from President José Raúl Mulino
Statement from President Jose Raul Mulino pic.twitter.com/BZmrihicLE— José Raúl Mulino (@JoseRaulMulino) December 22, 2024
Mulino’s defense of Panamanian control over the key commercial waterway shows how Trump is already exerting global influence after the next US president put control of the canal on the line over the weekend, denouncing “ridiculous” transit fees. for American ships and the alleged Chinese invasion and announced that this “scam” against the United States “will cease immediately,” proposing to demand its return.
Trump’s heavy hand, less than a month before his inauguration, represents a new front in his attempt to increase pressure on trading partners. After Mulino’s retort about Panamanian control, Trump said: “We’ll see!” on its Truth Social platform.
China does not control the canal, although a Chinese company — a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. — has two of the five ports adjacent to the canal, one on each side. According to Panama’s Constitution, the canal is administered by the Panama Canal Authority, and part of the tolls go to the national treasury. The authority said last week that it had deposited almost $2.5 billion in the last fiscal year, according to Bloomberg.
China’s influence in the region has been increasing. In 2017, Panama broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan and declared that there was “one China.” After raising the issue on his social platform, Trump claimed on Sunday that the channel was “falling into the wrong hands.” ““It is not up to China or any other country to manage it.”he noted to a conservative audience in Phoenix. “See what’s going on there? China.”
In a post on his Facebook account later Sunday, Trump posted an image of an American-flagged boat in a body of water with the caption “Welcome to the United States Channel!”
Could the US have control of the Canal?
It is unclear what circumstances would allow Trump to invoke control over the Canal, which The United States built it at the beginning of the last century before returning it to Panamanian control 25 years ago under a set of 1977 treaties signed by then-President Jimmy Carter.
However, a treaty between the United States and Panama remains in force that establishes the permanent neutrality of the Canal for the transit of all nations, a fact that Mulino cited on Sunday. That treaty also says the United States could use military force to defend the canal’s neutrality.
The 82-kilometer (51-mile) canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is a major strategic asset and has been a choke point for global trade as Panama has suffered a prolonged drought that has prevented crossings.
Mulino said the canal tolls are not excessive. Citing treaties between the United States and Panama, Mulino said the canal is controlled exclusively by Panama and is not influenced by China, Europe or the United States. “The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable,” he said. Canal tolls are set transparently, based on operating costs and market conditions, he said.
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