U.S. President Donald Trump asserted on Saturday that American military and commercial ships should traverse the Panama and Suez Canals without incurring fees.
He claimed the canals’ existence is owed to the United States.
“Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, directing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to secure this arrangement.
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz echoed this sentiment, suggesting the U.S. shouldn’t pay for using a canal it built.
The Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean and Red seas, both charge substantial transit fees.
The Trump administration has focused on reducing China’s influence over the Panama Canal, originally constructed by the U.S. and later transferred to Panama in 1999.
Panama recently withdrew from China’s Belt and Road Initiative after U.S. pressure.
