Donald Trump complains about ‘ridiculous’ Panama Canal fees on US ships

President-elect Trump unleashed a tirade against Panama Canal tolls On Saturday, the US claims to be cheated by high prices.

In a Truth Social post Saturday, Trump complained at length about the tolls levied on U.S. ships sailing through the Great Trench. Panama Canal tolls can range from three to six figures depending on how big a vessel is and how much cargo it’s carrying, with the largest ships being charged as much as $500,000.

“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL national asset to the United States because of its critical role to America’s economy and national security,” Trump wrote in his post. “A secure Panama Canal is critical to U.S. trade and rapid deployment of the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, drastically reducing shipping times to U.S. ports.”

The president-elect criticized former President Carter, who Trump said “stupidly gave it away for one dollar.” In 1977, Carter signed the Panama Canal, which phased out US control of the canal in 1999.

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President-elect Trump spoke out about the Panama Canal tolls in a Truth Social post on Saturday. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Carter also signed the neutrality treaty, which ensured that tolls would be equal for all nations. Trump hinted that the United States should have preferential treatment in his mail.

“Our navy and commerce have been treated in a most unfair and unjust manner,” argued the president-elect. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially considering the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed upon Panama by the United States. This complete ‘unmasking’ of our country must stop immediately.”

Trump also floated the idea of ​​reclaiming the canal’s ownership to the United States if American ships are not treated fairly.

“(The Panama Canal) was not given for the benefit of others, but simply as a sign of cooperation with us and Panama,” Trump concluded. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full and without question.

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A cargo ship and tug sail through the Cocoli Locks at the Panama Canal in Panama on August 12, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“To the officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!”

Trump also noted that the canal was built at enormous cost to the United States, although he falsely claimed that 38,000 Americans died while building it. The National Institutes for Health estimates that the number of people who died while working during the US construction of the canal was about 5,600.

It is unclear how many of those who died were American because much of the workforce was recruited from the Caribbean. Trump may have included the roughly 22,000 workers who died while the French were trying to build the canal in the 1880s.

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In an aerial photo, a ship prepares to pass through the Aqua Clara locks at the entrance to the Panama Canal September 20, 2023 in Colón, Panama. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)

The Department of Government Efficiency’s X-account recently claimed that the Panama Canal cost American taxpayers $15.7 billion. The US government does not subsidize the channel. Ships passing it pay a toll.