ARM WRESS•Donald Trump threatened to take over this strategic sea route if he did not obtain preferential tariffs for his country

Donald Trump in Rochester on January 21, 2024. – Charles Krupa/AP

Israel News with AFP

Published on 06/02/2025 at 07:45

The huge pressure will have worked. Official ships of the American state will be able to use the  Panama Canal for free, after Donald Trump ‘s threats   to take back the strategic waterway.

« The State of Panama has agreed to no longer charge U.S. government vessels for transiting the Panama Canal, » the State Department announced in a post on X on Wednesday, adding that this « will save the U.S. government millions of dollars. »

Threats to counter China

The White House tenant had said he considered these tariffs unfair because of the United States’ commitments to defend this waterway. Visiting Panama on Sunday, the American Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had suggested that Panamanian President José Raul Mulino had taken note of Washington’s concerns about the prices imposed on American military ships to transit through the canal. He had said he expected announcements in the coming days.

From the day of his inauguration on January 20, Donald Trump had said he wanted to « regain » control of the artery to counter China’s influence  . Built by the United States and inaugurated in 1914, the Panama Canal came under Panamanian control at the end of 1999, under treaties signed in 1977 by the presidents of the time, the American Jimmy Carter and the Panamanian Omar Torrijos.

Israel Digital News with AFP