Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
House Republicans On Thursday, he introduced a bill for the United States to buy back the Panama Canal after President-elect Trump expressed concern that the critical waterway is under Chinese control.
The bill, called the Panama Canal Buyback Act, was introduced by Representative Dusty Johnson, RS.D., a member of the Select Committee on China and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
“President Trump is right to consider buying back the Panama Canal,” Johnson said in a statement. “China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern. America must project strength abroad: owning and operating the Panama Canal could be an important step toward a stronger America and a safer world”.
The bill has 15 other Republican co-sponsors: Reps. Dan Crenshaw, Randy Weber, Troy Nehls and Brian Babin of Texas; Georgia’s Mike Collins, Barry Loudermilk and Andrew Clyde; Barry Moore of Alabama; Jack Bergman of Michigan; Mike Rulli of Ohio; Florida’s Neal Dunn and Aaron Bean; Erin Houchin of Indiana; Abraham Hamadeh of Arizona; and Mike Lawler from New York.
Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas and Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail in Gatún Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama on December 28, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)
If it becomes law, the bill would give the president authority to act in coordination with the secretary of state, to “initiate and conduct negotiations with appropriate counterparts in the government of the Republic of Panama to reacquire the Panama Canal.”
From the date the measure is enacted, the president has 180 days to submit a report to Congress detailing the progress of the negotiations, potential challenges and expected results.
The US State Department estimates that about 72% of all ships traveling through the Panama Canal come from or go to a US port.
Given the strategic importance of the canal to the United States, Johnson’s office also noted how the waterway is a key transit point for US Coast Guard and Defense Department ships.
Without access to the canal, ships would be forced to travel an additional 8,000 miles across South America.
“More than 10,000 ships use the Panama Canal each year, generating billions of dollars in tolls that would benefit the United States economically,” Johnson’s office said.
In the a press conference From his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he would assure the world that he would not use “military or economic coercion” to gain control of the Panama Canal, as well as Greenland
Rep. Dusty Johnson introduced the Panama Canal Buyback Act. (Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“No, I can’t assure you about either of those two. But, I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said. “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s operated by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China. And they’ve abused it. They have abused this. gift should never have been given.”
TRUMP: CARTER WAS A ‘VERY GOOD’ PERSON BUT PANAMA CANAL MOVES WERE ‘BIG MISTAKE’
The Panamanian government has denied it China controls the Panama Canal, which the United States gave up on the last day of 1999 under a treaty negotiated decades earlier by the late former President Jimmy Carter.
President-elect Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Johnson’s office referred to China’s growing influence in the region around the Panama Canal.
“In 2018, Panama was the first country in Latin America to join the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the investments of PRC companies in canal infrastructure have only increased since then. In addition, PRC companies have management rights to both ports on both sides of the canal,” the congressman’s office wrote.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Two seaports on either side of the Panama Canal have been operated for decades by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports PPC, the New York Times reported.
The paper highlighted how the Chinese government has implemented more and more its national security laws on Hong Kong Island that can compel companies to comply with military and intelligence-gathering operations.
