Let's Not Rock The Boats In The Panama Canal
Date
1/20/2025 2:15:53 PM
(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama)
January 20th has arrived with the inauguration of the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. If a hostile force threatens to take control of the Panama Canal waterway, that will be the correct time for the U.S. to rattle their sabers. The article in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal“Will trump Invade Panama?” missed several points. First, the Panamanian waterway has always been operated as an international public utility, tolls barely covering operating costs, not to mention original construction outlays. Second, tolls are constrained by what the market can bear, taking into account available alternatives: rounding Cape Horn; transcontinental roll-on/roll-off rail systems; the Suez Canal. Third, threatening to“take back our canal” ignores that the original Panama Canal has been superseded by a new, larger canal built by foreign engineers and capital, with Panama facing decades of heavy debt to its creditors. And fourth, the autonomous Panamanian canal is still one of the country's largest employers, which is how it benefits the economy, not by gouging U.S. shippers or failing to address societal needs.
We shouldn't assume that military force will be President Trump's only option to try and change the decision of President Jimmy Carter and the U.S. Senate to relinquish U.S. control of the Panama Canal. While the Carter administration excluded an arbitration provision from the treaties, essentially conceding that the U.S. wouldn't seek a remedy to potential Panamanian abuse, Mr. Trump isn't without leverage. Simply by formally requesting the opening of negotiations over the canal's status, Mr. Trump will place enormous pressure on the Panamanian government. In such a negotiation, Mr. Trump has both carrots, including revenue sharing for canal fees and other incentives, and sticks in the form of tariffs and withdrawal from the Panama-U.S. Trade Promotion Agreement. President-elect Donald Trump's threats over the Panama Canal may be rooted in his decades-long views of the country, forged by his own attempts to do business there. Does the canal charge US ships more than others? No. Does the canal charge the U.S. Navy more than others? No. In fact US warships receive expedited passage. The USA is not charged more than other countries....a treaty is a treaty.....USA legally signed over the canal to Panama. From 4,000 to 12,000 tonne ships now can pass through the Canal because of the $7 billion expansion made by Panama without the United States assistance financially.
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