State Dept says US government vessels can now transit Panama Canal without fees
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US President Donald Trump had accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Panama Canal.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – The US Department of State said on Feb 5 that American government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without fees.
“The government of Panama has agreed to no longer charge fees for US government vessels to transit the Panama Canal,” the department said in a post on X.
It said the agreement will save the US government millions of dollars each year.
The Panama Canal Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino on Feb 2 during a trip to Central America.
Panama has become a focal point of the Trump administration as US President Donald Trump has accused the Central American country of charging excessive rates to use its passage.
“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” Mr Trump said in January.
Mr Mulino has dismissed Mr Trump’s threat that the US will retake control of the canal, which it largely built. The US administered territory surrounding the passage for decades.
But the US and Panama signed a pair of accords in 1977 that paved the way for the canal’s return to full Panamanian control. The US handed it over in 1999 after a period of joint administration. REUTERS
