U.S. Ships Getting Preferential Rates Would Create Chaos: Panama Canal Administrator
Panama Canal. X/ @SputnikInt
January 9, 2025 Hour: 8:25 am
‘We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else,’ Vasquez-Morales said.
On Wednesday, Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez-Morales said that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that U.S. ships get preferential rates “will violate the neutrality treaty, international law, and it will lead to chaos.”
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“Rules are rules and there are no exceptions… We cannot discriminate for the Chinese, or the Americans, or anyone else,” he said during an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Vasquez-Morales, who has led the canal authority since 2019, denied allegations that it charges U.S. vessels higher rates.
Tolls average about US$750,000 per crossing, though they can range between US$300,000 and US$1 million, he said, adding that “they apply to all ships from around the world and there are no exceptions.”
In response to Trump’s claims, the administrator said “the accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded… China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations.”
Since his victory in November last year, Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of gaining control of the Panama Canal — a major shipping route dug through Panama — and purchasing Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
At a press conference on Tuesday — the first since Trump’s election win was officially certified by the U.S. Congress — Trump declined to rule out military or economic action, emphasizing that U.S. control of both was vital to national security.
teleSUR/ JF Source: Xinhua
