Washington: US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday criticized unfair tariffs for US ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that control of the waterway be returned to Washington.
He also pointed to China’s growing influence around the canal, a worrisome trend for American interests because American businesses depend on the channel to move goods between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“Our navy and commerce have been treated very unfairly and unjustly. The fees charged by Panama are ridiculous,” he said in a post on his Truth social platform.
“This complete ‘rip off’ of our country must stop immediately.”
The Panama Canal, which was completed by the United States in 1914, was returned to the Central American country under a 1977 agreement signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
Panama took full control in 1999.
“It was just for the management of Panama, not China or anybody else,” Trump said. “We will and never will let it fall into the wrong hands!”
He continued that if Panama could not ensure the “safe, efficient and reliable operation” of the canal, “then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us completely and without question.”
Panamanian officials did not immediately respond to Trump’s post.
Although he won’t officially take office until next month, Trump is flexing his political influence in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
The real estate mogul boasted on the campaign trail that as an entrepreneur, he was uniquely positioned to fight for America’s business interests.
An estimated five percent of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, which allows ships traveling between Asia and the US east coast to avoid the long, dangerous passage around the southern tip of South America.
The main users of the passage are the United States, China, Japan and South Korea.
The Panama Canal Authority reported in October that the waterway generated record revenues of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.