Trump threatens to try again to control the Panama Canal

President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce tolls on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the Central American country of charging “exorbitant prices” to US ships and naval vessels.

“The fees that Panama is charging are ridiculous, they are unfair,” he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona on Sunday.

“This complete fraud of our country will end soon,” he said, speaking when he took office next month.

His remarks prompted an immediate rebuke from Panama’s president, who said “every square meter” of the river and its surroundings belonged to his country.

President José Raúl Mulino added that Panama’s sovereignty and independence are non-negotiable.

Trump made the remarks to supporters of Turning Point USA, a conservative activist group that has provided much of the support for his 2024 re-election campaign.

It was a rare example of a US leader saying he could push a country to give up space – though he didn’t say how he would do it – and a sign of how US foreign policy and diplomacy could change once he’s in the White House. his ordination on 20 January.

Trump’s comments followed a similar post a day earlier in which he said the Panama Canal is a “critical national asset” of the US.

If shipping rates are not reduced, Trump said on Sunday, “we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, fully, immediately and without hesitation”.

The 51-mile (82km) Panama Canal crosses the American continent and is the main link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Up to 14,000 ships pass through it each year, including container ships carrying cars, natural gas and other goods, and warships.

It was built in the early 1900s. The US retained control of the canal until 1977, when treaties gradually returned the land to Panama. After a period of joint control, Panama assumed sole control in 1999.

The US had reserved the right to use the military to protect the canal from any threat to its neutrality – a threat that now appears to be coming from the US itself.

The neutrality agreement guarantees fair access to all nations and non-discriminatory toll roads. Different shipping companies charge different tolls – but this depends on the size of the ship and the cargo on board, not the country of origin.

Canal transit costs have risen over the past year due to a historic drought, according to an analysis by leading shipping industry website Lloyd’s List.

About 75% of the cargo passing through the waterway in the most recent fiscal year was destined for or originating in the US, according to the Panama Canal Authority.

However, the users of this canal are the ship owners, not the countries themselves.

Along with Panama, the president-elect also targeted Canada and Mexico for what he called unfair trade practices. He accused them of allowing drugs and immigrants to the US, although he called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum “a wonderful woman”.

Trump spoke in front of thousands at the annual Turning Point conference, one of the country’s largest gatherings of human rights activists.

Turning Point has poured huge resources into get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states designed to bolster Trump and other Republicans during the election campaign.

It was his first speech since Congress passed a deal this week to keep the U.S. government open, after many provisions were removed, including one that would have raised the national debt.

Trump has supported increasing the debt, which limits the amount of money the US government can borrow.

But his speech on Sunday avoided the issue entirely, instead rehashing his election victory and touching on topics – including immigration, crime and foreign trade – that were central to his campaign.

However, he talked about Elon Musk.

“You know, they get kicked again,” he said. “All lies are different. The new one is that President Trump has given Elon Musk the position of president.”

“No, no, that’s not possible,” “Oh! “He won’t be president.”

Many of the speakers here at the conference were critical of government spending and politicians from both parties – yet the divisions within the Republican Party that have played out in Congress in recent days have been largely muted.