President of Panama José Raúl Mulino on Thursday ruled out any possible discussions with President-elect Donald Trump about control of the Panama Canal or any reduction in the transit fees imposed to U.S. ships that pass through it, asserting that there is “nothing to talk about” regarding the matter.
The Panamanian president also refuted Trump’s claims of the presence of Chinese soldiers in the trade route, describing it as “nonsense.”
Mulino made the assertions during a weekly press conference in which he stated he will wait for Trump to take office on January 20, 2025, before talking with the U.S. president-elect to reach agreements on issues of common interest, such as migration or terrorism — but he stressed there is no possibility of negotiating the “reality” of the status of the Panama Canal:
“There is no possibility for this president to talk about anything that seeks to rethink the legal-political reality of the Panama Canal in Panamanian hands,” Mulino said. “If that is where the intention to talk comes from, there is nothing to talk about.”
“The canal is Panamanian and belongs to Panamanians, there is no possibility of opening any kind of conversation about this reality, which has cost the country tears, sweat and blood,” he added.
Last week, President-elect Trump started an ongoing debate over the Panama Canal, built by the United States in 1914 and whose control was handed over to Panama in 1999 as per the terms of a deal agreement signed by both nations under the administration of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in 1977.
Trump, through a Truth Social post, expressed that the United States should take back control of the Canal because of the “exorbitant” transit fees imposed to U.S. ships, which Trump described as a “rip-off.”
In another Truth Social post, dated Wednesday, Trump asserted that Chinese soldiers are “lovingly, but illegally” operating the Panama Canal.
Mulino dismissed Trump’s recent accusations as “nonsense,” claiming there is no foreign interference from China or any other country in the trade route while cataloging the U.S. President-elect’s claims as possible “geopolitical fears.”
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything related to the Panama Canal. There are no soldiers from that nation in the canal, for God’s sake,” Mulino said. “There are no Chinese in the canal, as simple as that. Neither Chinese nor any other power.”
“The whole world is free to visit the canal. If you find a Chinese soldier in the canal, personally, I will recognize President-elect Donald Trump for what he has said on that subject,” he added.
Panama formally established diplomatic relations with China in June 2017 under the administration of President Juan Carlos Varela, cutting ties with Taiwan at the same time and embracing the Chinese Communist Party’s “One-China Principle,” which states that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a “province” of China.
Mulino also refuted Trump’s claims that U.S. ships are “ripped off” with the Canal’s transit fees and ruled out any possible reduction in the fees. According to Mulino, Panama was paid a “pittance” from the Panama Canal up until the country was given control of the trade route.
“In the canal, tolls are not set at the whim of the president or the [Canal’s] administrator. There is an established process for setting canal tolls that has been respected from day one to date. It is a public and open process,” Mulino said.
“Since 1914, the toll paid by warships of any nation, including the United States, is calculated based on the tons of water displacement, as everyone else pays. There is no discrimination against any warship, whether from the United States or any other country,” he added.
The United States reportedly accounts for 74 percent of all cargo transiting through the Panama Canal, with China amounting to 21 percent, followed by Japan, South Korea, and Chile.
Jorge Quijano, former administrator of the Panama Canal, reportedly stated that the trade route’s toll system “is differentiated by market segment, and the country of origin, destination or ship registration is not important.”
Quijano added that any increase in tolls and transit tariffs “must be analyzed based on our competitiveness as a country.”
Quijano said that the Americans “have greatly benefited from the canal, and now, under these almost 25 years of Panamanian administration, the canal seeks to ensure that its benefits go to Panamanians.”
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