Panama has denied making changes to allow US government ships to transit the Panama Canal for free, following claims by the White House that it had agreed to such a move.
The State Department said in a statement on X, that its government ships “can now transit the Panama Canal without fees, saving the US government millions of dollars annually,” the Telegraph reports.
In a statement in response to the State Department, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) said: “The Panama Canal Authority, which is authorized to set fees and other charges for canal transit, reports that it has made no adjustments to them.”
US President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly expressed its desire to reclaim the key trade corridor, an argument that has sparked reactions in Panama.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is on a tour of Latin American countries this week, demanded that Panama make “immediate changes” to what he calls China’s “influence and control” over the Panama Canal. Rubio, who is America’s top diplomat, said Panama must act or the US will take necessary measures to protect its rights under a treaty between the two countries.
