‘US ships should pass through Panama, Suez canals for free’

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump on April 26 urged free transit for American commercial and military ships through the Panama and Suez canals, tasking his secretary of state with making progress "immediately."

Trump has for months been calling for the United States to take control of the Panama Canal but his social media post also shifted focus onto the vital Suez route.

"American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He claimed both routes would "not exist" without the United States and said he had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to "immediately take care of" the situation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said during a visit to Panama City earlier this month that the U.S. was seeking an agreement under which its warships could pass through the canal "first, and free."

The United States and China are two of the top users of the Panama Canal.

Egypt's Suez Canal, a key waterway linking Europe and Asia, accounted for about 10 percent of global maritime trade before attacks by Yemen's Huthi rebels on shipping routes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Egypt said last year its canal revenues had plunged 60 percent, a loss of $7 billion.

The U.S. military has been attacking Huthi positions since January 2024, but those assaults have intensified under Trump, with almost daily strikes in the past month.

Trump has vowed that military action would continue until the Huthis are no longer a threat to shipping.