Donald Trump complains about ‘ridiculous’ Panama Canal fees for US ships

President-elect Trump launched a tirade against Panama Canal tolls on Saturday, saying the US is being ripped off by high tariffs.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump bemoaned the tolls charged on American ships passing through the Big Ditch. Panama Canal fees can range from three to six figures depending on how big the ship is and how much cargo it’s carrying, with the largest ships being charged as much as $500,000.

“The Panama Canal is considered a VITAL national asset of the United States, due to its vital role in the US Economy and National Security,” Trump wrote in his post. “A secure Panama Canal is essential to US Commerce, as well as rapid shipping for the Navy, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and greatly reduces shipping times at US ports.”

The incoming president criticized former President Carter, who Trump said “gave stupidly, for one dollar.” In 1977, Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty, which ended US control of the canal in 1999.

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Carter also signed the Neutrality Treaty, which guaranteed that tolls would be equal for all nations. Trump stated that the US should be given special treatment in his position.

“Our Navy and Commerce have been treated unfairly and unjustly,” the president-elect said. “The fees charged to Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity given to Panama by the US. This complete ‘extermination’ of our country will stop soon.”

Trump also floated the idea that he wants ownership of the canal to be returned to the United States if American ships are not treated properly.

“[The Panama Canal] it was not given for the benefit of others, but simply as a symbol of cooperation with us and Panama,” concluded Trump. The Panama Canal has been returned to us, fully, and without question.

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A cargo ship and a tugboat pass through the Cocoli Locks in the Panama Canal in Panama Aug. 12, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

“To the management of Panama, please be directed accordingly!”

Trump also noted that the canal was built at great expense to the United States, although he incorrectly stated that 38,000 Americans died while building it. The National Institutes for Health estimates that the number of people who died during the construction of the American canal was about 5,600.

It is not clear how many of the dead were American because most of the workers were recruited from the Caribbean. Trump may have included some 22,000 workers who died when the French tried to build the canal in the 1880s.

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Aerial view, a ship prepares to pass the Aqua Clara locks at the entrance to the Panama Canal September 20, 2023, in Colón, Panama. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)

The Department of Government Efficiency X account recently said the Panama Canal cost US taxpayers $15.7 billion. The US government does not fund the canal. Ships passing through pay tolls.