US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged free transit for US commercial and military ships through the Panama and Suez canals, tasking his secretary of state with making progress “immediately.”
Trump has for months been calling for the US to take control of the Panama Canal, but his social media post also shifted focus onto the vital Suez route.
“American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Photo: AFP
He claimed both routes would “not exist” without the US and said he had asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “immediately take care of” the situation.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, without directly referencing Trump, said on Saturday that toll fees for the Panama Canal are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous governing body that oversees the trade route.
“There is no agreement to the contrary,” he said in a post on X.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had said during a visit to Panama City earlier this month that the US was seeking an agreement under which its warships could pass through the canal “first, and free.”
The US and China are two of the top users of the Panama Canal.
Egypt’s Suez Canal, a key waterway linking Europe and Asia, accounted for about 10 percent of global maritime trade before attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Iran-backed rebels began targeting vessels after the start of the Gaza war, claiming solidarity with Palestinians, forcing ships to take a long and costly detour around the southern tip of Africa.
Egypt said last year its canal revenues had plunged 60 percent, a loss of US$7 billion.
The US military has been attacking Houthi positions since January last year, but those assaults have intensified under Trump, with almost daily strikes in the past month.
Trump has vowed that military action would continue until the Houthis are no longer a threat to shipping.
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