Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino has dismissed US President-elect Donald Trump's threats to reclaim control over the Panama Canal, asserting Panamanian ownership and rejecting negotiations. Mulino also refuted claims of Chinese influence and ruled out lowering tolls for US ships,

As for the Panama Canal, Mulino denied U.S. vessels are being overcharged to use the waterway and emphasized that China plays no role in the canal. A Hong Kong-based firm manages two ports at the Panama Canal’s entrances, but Panama owns and operates the entire canal.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino rejected President-elect Trump’s claims of Chinese interference and high fees to use the Panama Canal. The post Panama’s president rejects Trump’s claim of Chinese interference at canal appeared first on FreightWaves.

The canal, which was completed in 1914, was constructed by the United States and handed over to Panama on December 31, 1999, according to treaties signed approximately twenty years earlier

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said China has no stake in the Panama Canal and US warships pay the same toll rates as other nations, pushing back against Donald Trump’s threats over the key waterway.

Mulino also ruled out lowering canal tolls for US ships and refuted claims that China held any sway over the crucial waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

President-elect Donald Trump is openly discussing aspirations for U.S. territorial expansion, including taking over the Panama Canal. Trump has yet to specify how he will demand the return of the state-run canal to the U.

Trump said the U.S. ships are being unfairly charged for access to the canal.