US President Donald Trump has renewed his criticism of the decision to transfer control of the Panama Canal to Panama, claiming the country sharply increased transit fees after taking charge and warning that the United States would not allow China to expand its influence over the strategic waterway.
Speaking at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, on Wednesday (local time), Trump argued that Panama repeatedly raised shipping charges after assuming control of the canal without affecting vessel traffic.
“The Panama Canal, so we gave it away. The first thing they did, you know what they did? They raised the prices for the ships by four times, and they didn’t lose one ship. And then they raised it again twice, and they didn’t lose one ship. All they did was make tremendous amounts of money for years and years. How stupid was that?” Trump said.
He also claimed that China was seeking to increase its influence over the canal.
“And now China’s trying to take over the Panama Canal, and we’re not going to let that happen, okay? And that was not part of the script because I don’t really have a script because this thing doesn’t work,” he said.
Trump’s remarks referred to the US decision to transfer control of the canal under the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties. The process concluded in 1999, when Panama assumed full control of the waterway.