President Donald Trump reiterated in his inaugural speech Monday his desire to acquire the Panama Canal.
During his first official day in office, Trump also said he would impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada — the United States’ two largest trade partners — starting Feb. 1.
Trump repeatedly vowed during his campaign to take ownership of the Panama Canal, and he refused to rule out using military force in pursuit of his goal. The U.S. signed over ownership to Panama in 1977.
“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form … and that includes the United States Navy. And, above all, China is operating the Panama Canal, and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back,” Trump said after beginning his second term in office.
The Panama Canal carries an estimated 3% of global maritime traffic, connecting 180 maritime routes that reach 1,920 ports in 170 countries around the world. Almost 9,000 Panamanians work at the canal.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino rejected Trump’s claims.
The Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, was built by Panama and the United States. The 51-mile waterway connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was administered by the U.S. until 1999, when control of the waterway was given solely over to Panama under a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
“The Canal is and will remain Panama’s and its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control with respect for its permanent neutrality,” Mulino said in a news release on Monday. “There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration.”
Related: Panama’s president rejects Trump’s claim of Chinese interference at canal
Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has licenses that it won through a bidding process in 1997 to operate two ports adjacent to the canal.
Chinese officials have not directly addressed Trump’s allegations that China is running the Panama Canal, but on Tuesday, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang said there are “no winners” in a global trade war.
“Admittedly, economic globalization will bring some tensions and disagreements on distribution. These issues can only be resolved in the process of promoting economic globalization. Protectionism leads nowhere,” Ding said during a public speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Trade war has no winners. We must seize all opportunities to steer economic globalization in the right direction, tackle the development challenges with universal benefit, and pool strengths with inclusive cooperation, so as to usher in a new phase of economic globalization that is more dynamic, more inclusive and more sustainable.”
Russian officials were critical of Trump’s vows to take back the canal.
The Panama Canal legally belongs to Panama, according to Alexander Shchetinin, director of the Latin American department of the Russian foreign ministry.
“Hopefully, in their anticipated discussions on control over the Panama Canal, which is clearly a bilateral matter, the Panamanian authorities and U.S. President Donald Trump will honor the established legal procedures governing this key water route,” Shchetinin said in a statement posted Monday.
The Trump Organization, the business conglomerate owned by Trump, has an ongoing tax evasion case in Panama centering around the former Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower in Panama City, according to Newsweek.
Also Monday, Trump said he would begin to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 1.
During his campaign, he had said he would place 20% tariffs on imports from all countries, along with a 25% tax on goods from Mexico and Canada and a 60% levy on goods from China, on his first day in office.
“We are thinking in terms of 25% on Mexico and Canada because they’re allowing vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in,” Trump said during an interview with media in the Oval Office after the inauguration. “I think we’ll do it Feb. 1.”
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said if Trump imposes tariffs on his country, Canada will retaliate with tariffs on U.S. goods.
“If the president does choose to proceed with tariffs on Canada, Canada will respond and everything is on the table,” Trudeau said during a news conference Tuesday, according to Globalnews.ca. “I support the principle of dollar-for-dollar matching tariffs. It’s something that we are absolutely going to be looking at if that is how they move forward.”
Related: It’s time for shippers using Panama Canal to make decisions
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