United States Government says that their ships will no longer pay rates on the Panama Canal

The United States government said Wednesday that Panama He accepted not to charge his ships for traffic through the Panama Canal, thus saving “millions of dollars a year”, an announcement that comes after the visit of the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubioto the Central American country in the midst of President Donald Trump’s pressures for “recovering” the road.

“The Panama Government has agreed not to charge more rates to the ships of the United States government that transit the Panama Canal, which allows it to save millions of dollars a year,” he said in a message on the social network X the United States Department.

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Shortly before, the Pentagon had reported in a statement that the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegesh .

“Hegseth emphasized that his main priority is to safeguard the national security interests of the United States under the leadership of President Trump, which includes ensuring access without restrictions to the Panama Canal and keeping it free of foreign interference,” the statement said.

The call occurred on Tuesday and in it both Hegseth and Abrego reaffirmed the commitment of both countries “with the defense of the channel and agreed to expand cooperation between the United States Armed Forces and the Panama Security Forces.”

His conversation occurred amid the tension between the two nations after the claim of the US president, Donald Trump, to “recover” the control of the Panama Canal for the alleged Chinese influence on the interoceanic route.

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Given this, the Panama government agreed not to renew the cooperation agreement with China on the new Silk route, among other measures.

Panama denies it

The administration of the channel of Panama He denied Wednesday in a statement that has adjusted the traffic rates for the ships of the United States government as announced by the State Department. “The Panama Canal Authority, empowered to set tolls and other rights to travel the channel, communicates that it has not made any adjustment to them,” said the entity that manages the interoceanic route.

The Panama Canal Authorityindependent of the Panamanian government, had already advanced last Sunday to Marco Rubio who would work with the US Navy to “optimize the priority in the transit of their ships” through the interoceanic path, although no more details had been given.

“The Panama Canal Authority told the Secretary Rubio his willingness to work with the Navy of that country, to optimize the priority in the transit of his ships through the Panama Canal,” the entity then informed in a statement in a statement , shortly after the visit of the head of American diplomacy to the road, where he met with the administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez.

Trump bases his threats on the supposed presence of China on the road that joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the “unfair” treatment towards the ships of the United States, despite the evidence of the official Panamanian information, which shows that the ships of the North American country pay the same rates as others, by virtue of the Neutrality Treaty.

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According to data provided to the EFE agency by the Panama Canal, since 1998 at the end of fiscal year 2024 (26 years), of a total of 373,039 ships that traveled the channel, 994 (0.3%) correspond to transits of ships War and submarines of the United States Navy.

“In this period of time, traffic revenues in this concept have added 25.4 million dollars, which is equivalent to less than one million dollars a year,” he said.

Since the inauguration of the road, in 1914, the toll paid by wars Floating dry, according to the ACP. This toll structure is different from the one used to establish the toll of commercial ships.