Barely inaugurated president, Donald Trump vowed this Monday to regain control of the Panama Canal built by the United States and transferred to the small Central American country in 1999.
Donald Trump targeted several countries during his inauguration on Monday. In addition to Mexico and Canada on which the new American president wishes to impose customs duties of 25% from February 1, he also mentioned the thorny Panamanian issue which he had already brought back to the forefront. scene just a month ago. The new tenant of the White House thus reaffirmed his desire to “retake” control of the Panama Canal built by the United States and transferred to Panama in 1999.
“We have been very mistreated by this senseless gift which should never have been given. The promise that Panama made to us was not kept,” he said, emphasizing that the American ships were “ seriously overtaxed.
On December 21, the president-elect had already attacked the “ridiculous” rights of passage imposed on American ships using the Panama Canal and had threatened to demand the resumption of control of this navigation route by the United States.
Operated by the Panama Canal Authority
This interoceanic waterway, 80 kilometers long, is operated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous public body. Panama's Constitution states that the canal “constitutes an inalienable heritage of the Panamanian nation” and is open to ships “of all nations.” The United States, with 74% of the total cargo transported, and China, with 21%, are the main users of the canal. They are followed by Japan, South Korea and Chile.
The Panamanian government, at the request of the ACP, sets the price of tolls based on the needs of the canal and the demand of international trade. The tariff is determined by the cargo capacity of the vessels, not the country of origin.
“The canal is not controlled, directly or indirectly, neither by China, nor by the European Community, nor by the United States or any other power,” declared the President of Panama, José Raul Mulino, at the end of December, rejecting Trump's threats.
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The canal is neutral according to the Torrijos-Carter treaties
In 1903, Panama gained its independence from Colombia. On August 15, 1914, after more than 30 years of work and the death of some 25,000 workers from malaria or yellow fever, this engineering monument was inaugurated by the Americans. They succeeded where the French, led by the engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps, the father of the Suez Canal, had failed between 1881 and 1904. The canal “is part of our history (…) and is an irreversible conquest” , said President Mulino.
Washington had created the “Canal Zone”, an enclave where the American flag flew with its own military, police and judicial bases, giving rise to decades of Panamanian demands to reunify the country and take control of the route. In 1977, Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos and American President Jimmy Carter signed the treaties authorizing the transfer of the canal to Panama on December 31, 1999.
“Any attempt to undo this historic achievement not only dishonors our struggle, but also constitutes an offense to the memory of those who made it possible,” former president Martin Torrijos, the general’s son, wrote on social media .
The Torrijos-Carter treaties, supported by more than 40 countries, establish that the canal is neutral and that any ship can pass through it. The only condition is that it meets safety standards and that military ships from countries in conflict do not pass through at the same time.
A record turnover of nearly $5 billion over the last financial year
The canal profoundly transformed navigation and world trade. Ships go from coast to coast in about eight hours without having to go to Cape Horn, at the southern tip of America. From New York to San Francisco, a ship saves 20,300 kilometers. The canal, which connects more than 1,900 ports in 170 countries, represents 5% of global maritime trade. Having become too small, it was expanded between 2009 and 2016. Today, ships measuring up to 366 meters long and 49 meters wide, or almost four football fields, can pass through.
It also weighs heavily in Panama's economy: 6% of GDP. Since 2000, the canal has returned more than $28 billion to the Panamanian Treasury, far more than during 85 years of American management ($1.88 billion). The Americans “benefited greatly from the canal, it was never a gift” to Panama, said former ACP leader Jorge Quijano. During the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the Panama Canal raked in a record revenue of $4.9 billion. It saw the transit of some 11,200 ships and 423 million tonnes of goods.
