April 28, 2025 (Bloomberg News) –
President Donald Trump called for "free of charge" passage of American ships through the Panama and Suez canals, renewing his focus of expanding U.S. influence over critical commercial and naval waterways.
While Trump began pushing for an exit of Chinese port operators around the Panama Canal soon after returning to the White House in January, the post on his Truth Social network on Saturday also turned attention to the Suez Canal, which cuts through Egypt to link the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
"Those Canals would not exist without the United States of America," Trump said, adding that he's asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "immediately take care of" the situation.
Trump's focus - with tariffs and other measures, such as proposed fees at U.S. ports - has been on Chinese commercial shipping and shipbuilding, with the ultimate goal of promoting a revival of U.S. shipbuilding. The U.S. government argues that China's dominance in ship construction was achieved unfairly and harms U.S. interests.
U.S. commercial shipbuilding, once a global leader, has shriveled since the 1980s because of subsidy cuts and foreign competition.
Panama in February promised free passage for U.S. warships through the canal, used mostly by the U.S. and China, after Trump criticized Chinese influence over the waterway and threatened to "take it back." A plan by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. to sell its Panamanian port assets to a consortium led by Blackrock Inc. has run into opposition from China and a financial dispute with Panama.
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