cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/23416568
Summary
Donald Trump criticized Panama Canal fees as “ridiculous” and demanded lower costs or the canal’s return to the US.
In a Truth Social post, Trump also expressed concern about potential Chinese influence over the waterway, despite no direct Chinese control of canal operations.
The canal, transferred to Panama in 1999, is vital for global trade, handling 5% of maritime traffic.
Trump’s comments follow record revenues of $5 billion announced by the Panama Canal Authority. Panama has not yet responded to his statements.
In other words: he was playing golf with some shipping magnate who complained about the high fees.
Panama has not yet responded to his statements.
Hopefully they just ignore him. And hopefully other countries start doing that too.
No government ahould be compelled to respond to Truth Social posts.
Yeah, best case scenario is that the rest of the world starts to consciously uncouple from the US, taking away the ability of the incoming fascist government to strongarm “allies” into doing and saying everything they want or suffer financial and diplomatic ruin.
It’s already happening. If Trump attempts to go Neville Chamberlain on Ukraine, the Europeans (at least a large group of them) are willing to tell him to fuck off.
Hopefully. Time will tell.
No civilized person should be compelled to listen to Trump’s whiny gob.
take-backsies as the basis for foreign policy
Hey Panama, it ain’t right that you’re charging people to use the Panama Canal. Give it to me so I can gouge the fuck out of it, including US shipping companies.
Unless they’re prepared to tickle my saggy balks of course, then they get friends and family discount.
The reason it has gotten so expensive is that the lake they use to flood the locks is dangerously low. Thing is that lake is also their main source of drinking water. So there is limited capacity unless you deprive the Panamanian people of drinking water. It is a complex issue, and bluster and threats will not make it any better.
I bet at least part of the reason for the lake running low is climate change too, making Trump and his cronies partly responsible for the very expenses he’s having a hissy fit over…
We’ve bombed them before and I wouldn’t doubt Trump will bomb them again. He seems to have no issues in depriving them of drinking water
The US has elected Beavis and Butt-Head.
Everybody laughing at this guy, but actual real people, and families, that are alive today, won’t be this time next year, because of the insane shit Trump and his cadre of incompetents will foist on the world with their purposefully unworkable foreign policies. You don’t do this, or nominate any of Trumps barrel bottoms in the first place, if you want a functioning ChristoFascist government, you do this because you want to get away with something else while everyone is distracted.
But I thought he wanted to reduce imports from China.
Fun fact: according to the scientific consensus*, The Panama Canal is not located in China
*AKA maps. Geography is a science, after all…
What!? Does the NASA is know about this???
The asshole isn’t president yet and the extortions and shakedowns have already started
Just double the fees for all US shipping for the next four years.
This just barely qualifies as not the Onion
