Trump calls for free passage of US ships through the Panama and Suez Canals
US President Donald Trump on Saturday urged free transit for American commercial and military ships through the Panama and Suez canals, tasking his secretary of state with making progress immediately.
American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals! he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Donald Trump has for months been calling for the United States to take control of the Panama Canal but his social media post also shifted focus onto the vital Suez route.
Donald Trump claimed both routes would not exist without the United States and said he had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “immediately take care of” the situation.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, without directly referencing Trump, said Saturday that toll fees for the Panama Canal are regulated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous governing body that oversees the trade route.
There is no agreement to the contrary, he said in a post on X.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said during a visit to Panama City earlier this month that the United States was seeking an agreement under which its warships could pass through the canal first, and free.
The United States and China are two of the top users of the Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal crosses the narrowest part of the isthmus between North and South America, allowing ships to move more quickly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It carries about 40 per cent of US container traffic each year.
The US completed construction of the canal in the early 20th century but gave control of the strategically important waterway to Panama in 1999.
Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to take back the canal. Before taking office in January, he told reporters that he would not rule out using economic or military force to regain control over the 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 Huthi rebels on shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Egypt said last year its canal revenues had plunged 60 percent, a loss of $7 billion.
