José Raúl Mulino also ruled out lowering the price of tolls for American ships on the canal and denied that China has any influence on this route.
The president of , , stated, this Thursday (26), that he will not negotiate any changes with the interoceanic channel in his country, after the American president-elect threatened to resume the operation of the commercial route. Mulino also ruled out lowering the price of tolls for American ships in the canal and denied having any influence on this 80 km long route, under Panamanian sovereignty since December 31, 1999.
“There is no possibility, on the part of this president, to discuss anything that seeks to reevaluate the legal-political reality of the Panama Canal in the hands of the Panamanians. If that is the intention of the conversation, there is nothing to talk about”, declared Mulino in his weekly press conference. “The channel belongs to Panama and Panamanians, there is no possibility of opening any type of conversation about this reality, which cost the country tears, sweat and blood,” he added.
The Panama Canal, built by the United States and opened in 1914, was transferred to Panamanian hands on December 31, 1999, pursuant to treaties signed in 1977 by then American president Jimmy Carter and Panamanian nationalist leader Omar Torrijos. On Saturday, Trump threatened to regain control of the canal if the price of tolls for American ships was not reduced, despite the fact that the tariff paid by ships is determined by their capacity and cargo transported, and not by the country of origin. “The tariffs that Panama charges are ridiculous (…) This complete robbery of our country will stop immediately,” declared Trump.
USA paid “a misery”
Mulino also rejected any changes to tolls this Thursday. “On the canal, tolls are not defined to the liking of the president or the administrator [da via interoceânica]. There is an established process to set the canal’s tolls, which has been respected from the first day until today, being a public and open process”, he stated. The road, 80 km long, connects the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. The United States, with 74% of the load, and China, with 21%, are its main users. Japan, South Korea and Chile follow.
The tariffs paid by vessels for using the route are established by the Panama Canal Authority, an autonomous Panamanian public entity, based on draft needs and international trade demand. The toll system “differs by market segment, regardless of the country of origin, destination, or the ship’s registration,” former canal manager Jorge Quijano explained to AFP.
“Any increase in tolls and tariffs for ship transit must be analyzed based on our competitiveness as a country,” he added. The canal represents 6% of Panama’s GDP. In the last fiscal year, more than 11,200 vessels passed through it, with 423 million tons of cargo, contributing 2.47 billion dollars to the tax authorities (R$ 15.2 billion, at current prices). Since 2000, the canal has allocated more than US$28 billion (R$172.6 billion) to the Panamanian treasury, much more than in the 85 years of American administration (around 1.9 billion dollars or R$12 billion).
“It was a misery what they paid us as a country until 1999”, highlighted Mulino. Quijano reported that Americans “have benefited widely from the canal, now in these almost 25 years of Panamanian administration, what the canal seeks is for its benefits to be for the Panamanians.”
“There are no Chinese soldiers”
The canal, through which 5% of world maritime trade passes, connects more than 1,900 ports in 170 countries. Last year, 52% of ships had ports in the United States as their origin or destination. The Panamanian president also repudiated Trump’s accusations about alleged Chinese interference in the trade route, going so far as to say that there are Chinese soldiers illegally operating the canal.
“There is absolutely no Chinese interference or participation in anything related to the Panama Canal (…); there are no Chinese soldiers on the canal, for God’s sake,” Mulino said. “They may be geopolitical fears that have some validity from their perspective, but when it comes to Panama, that has absolutely no truth,” he concluded. Panama established diplomatic relations with China in 2017, after breaking away from Taiwan, a decision criticized by Trump in his first term (2017-2021).
Published by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from AFP