President Donald Trump on Saturday called for free transit through the Panama and Suez Canals for US commercial and military ships. He tasked his Secretary of State to make immediate progress on this issue.
Trump claimed that these two routes would be ‘nonexistent’ without the United States. Therefore, he instructed his Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ‘take immediate action’ on this issue.
Trump has been demanding that the United States take control of the Panama Canal for several months, but on Saturday he also focused on the Suez Canal in a message on his social media. He said in a message on his Truth Social platform that both US military and commercial ships should be allowed free transit through the Panama and Suez Canals.
Before Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Egypt’s Suez Canal, a vital waterway linking Europe and Asia, carried about 10 percent of global maritime trade.
The Houthi rebels’ attacks on ships in solidarity with the Palestinians have forced ships to make long and costly journeys to the southern tip of Africa. Egypt says its canal revenue fell by 60 percent last year, costing it $7 billion.
The US military has been bombing Houthi positions since January 2024, but the number of attacks has increased in the past month under Trump. Trump has vowed to continue the military campaign as long as the Houthis pose a threat to shipping.
Sources: Politico, Bloomberg and AFP.