Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday ruled out talks with President-elect Donald Trump about managing the Panama Canal and lowering transit fees for U.S. ships passing through the canal, saying, “There's nothing to talk about.'' There's nothing,” he claimed. Regarding the matter.
Panama's president also refuted President Trump's claims about Chinese military presence along trade routes, calling it “nonsense.”
Mulino made this claim during his weekly press conference, saying he would wait for Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025, before talking with the next US president to reach agreement on common concerns such as immigration and terrorism. said. But he stressed there was no possibility of negotiating the “reality” of the Panama Canal's status.
“There is no chance that this president will talk about anything that would try to reconsider the legal-political reality of the Panama Canal, which is in the hands of the Panamanian people,” Mulino said. said. “If that's where your intent to speak comes from, there's nothing to say.”
“The canal belongs to Panama, it belongs to the Panamanian people. There is no possibility of starting any conversation about this reality that this country has spent tears, sweat and blood on,” he added.
Last week, President-elect Trump launched a continuing policy. discussion The Panama Canal was built by the United States in 1914, and its management was transferred to Panama in 1999 under the terms of an agreement signed by the two countries in 1977 under the administration of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said the United States should take back control of the canal, describing the “exorbitant” transit fees levied on American ships as a “rip-off.”
Another truth social postIn a statement dated Wednesday, President Trump claimed that Chinese soldiers were “lovingly but illegally” operating the Panama Canal.
While labeling President-elect Trump's claims as a possible “geopolitical concern,” Mulino asserted that there is no foreign interference by China or other countries on trade routes, and cited President-elect Trump's recent claims. He dismissed the accusations as “nonsense.”
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything related to the Panama Canal. Fortunately, there are no soldiers from that country in the canal,” Mulino said. “There are no Chinese in the canal, it's that simple. Not China or any other power.”
“People from all over the world are free to visit the canal. If we find Chinese soldiers in the canal, I will personally endorse President-elect Donald Trump's statement on that matter,” he added.
panama officially Establishment In June 2017, under the administration of President Juan Carlos Varela, the country established diplomatic relations with China and severed ties with Taiwan. same time It also accepts the Chinese Communist Party's “One China Principle,” which states that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is a “province” of China.
Mulino also disputed President Trump's claims that U.S. ships are being “ripped off” by the canal's tolls and ruled out any reduction in tolls. Mulino said Panama received “a small amount” of money from the Panama Canal until it was given control of the trade route.
“Canal tolls are not set at the whim of a president or president. [Canal’s] Administrator. There is an established process for setting canal tolls, which has been respected from its inception to the present day. This is a public and open process,” Mulino said.
“Since 1914, tolls paid by warships of any country, including the United States, have been calculated based on tons of displacement, just as other countries pay. There is no discrimination against any warship, even if it is a warship.” added.
US reportedly account of China accounts for 74 percent of all cargo passing through the Panama Canal, followed by Japan, South Korea, and Chile with 21 percent.
Jorge Quijano, former administrator of the Panama Canal, was quoted as saying that the trade route's toll structure “is differentiated by market segment, and the country of origin, destination, and vessel registration are not important.” .
Quijano added that increases in tolls and transportation fees “need to be analyzed based on our competitiveness as a country.”
Quijano said Americans “have benefited tremendously from the canal, and now, after almost 25 years of Panamanian rule, the canal is working to ensure that those benefits go to Panamanians.”
