Panama weighs conceding ‘major gift’ to defuse Trump threat: report

Officials in Panama are examining the possibility of canceling a deal with the Hong Kong-based company that operates ports along the Panama Canal as a way to ease the ongoing threats from President Donald Trump to seize the critical waterway, according to a new report in Bloomberg.

Trump has long voiced concern over Chinese influence on the canal and has vowed that the United States would be “taking it back” under his administration. But a potential deal in the works could help lower the temperature.

Government officials in Panama are considering ways to cancel the agreements held by Hutchison Ports PPC, a CK Hutchison Holdings subsidiary based in China, Bloomberg reported. While no official decision has been reached, the publication reported that President Jose Raul Mulino and his government would move forward “in a way intended to avoid lawsuits and follow due process.”

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Neither the presidential office in Panama nor officials with Hutchison Ports would comment on the new report, but Panamanian officials kicking out a Hong Kong firm from the canal would be seen as a win for Trump.

“If such a move goes through, it would mark a major gift to Trump, who says that China has too much control over the canal and hasn’t ruled out seizing it by force,” Bloomberg reported. “Hutchison Ports operates two of the five ports adjacent to the Panama Canal, one on each side. China has steadily eroded Hong Kong’s autonomy in recent years.”

The report comes as two Panamanian lawyers filed a complaint Monday seeking to cancel the same port contract based on claims that concessions in the agreement violate the country’s constitution, and as Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to the country where he addressed concerns of the U.S. government.