The State Department announced on Wednesday night that the U.S. won a significant concession for the Panama Canal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has successfully negotiated with Panama a new agreement that will grant the U.S. a right to use the Panamanian waterway free of charge. The state claimed that the move would save millions of dollars for the U.S. government every year.
It may not seem like much compared to the other expenses of the government, such as buying subscriptions to Politico PRO. But it’s a big symbolic win because the Panama Canal had been a key part of the Trump Administration’s foreign policy as he entered office.
The Trump team has claimed that giving up this important canal was an error and that the U.S. lost its strategic footing by doing so. Trump, however, has been adamant about the U.S. regaining strategic footing in that area. He even went so far as saying he wanted to take it back. Like most of Trump’s international policy, this appeared to be the starting point for the negotiations, with Rubio securing the free transit.
This victory would send a strong message to other countries, especially China who had gained some political clout in the Western Hemisphere. The U.S. will aggressively defend its interests. It’s as if the Trump administration was walking around with Big Stick Energy.
