Is this why Trump wants to disrupt the Panama Canal?

[Baitball Blogger]

It's not about the Panamanians. It's about their business ties with China. I think that's what Trump does. Disrupts contracts and traditional understandings in order to exploit the confusion.


The Canal’s global shipping role has only increased amid the disruption of global supply chains during the Covid-19 pandemic and U.S. calls for nearshoring away from China. The United States remains the top user of the Canal—in 2019, 66 percent of the cargo traffic transiting the Canal began or ended its journey at a U.S. port; cargo from or destined to China made up 13 percent of Canal traffic. Still, China is the primary source of products going through the Colón Free Trade Zone and its increasing presence in and around the Canal has made the waterway a flashpoint for U.S.-China competition over spheres of influence. China’s influence in the Panama Canal has only grown since 2017 when then-president Carlos Varela severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan and recognized China, further opening the door to China’s expanded footprint in critical Canal infrastructure and laying the groundwork for alignment with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

https://www.csis.org/analysis/key-decision-point-coming-panama-canal

[Irish_Dem]

1. He probably hopes to gain financially in some way.

[KT2000]

11. He believes there will be a huge payoff

when he breaks the US and hands it over to Putin. He has always assumed people were not as clever as he is, but now he is playing with a master. Putin will laugh him out of the club. Poor us.

[arthritisR_US]

14. I'm afraid you might be dead on mate.

[Irish_Dem]

15. We can see the deal they cut and the payoff.

Trump gets North and Central America.
Canada, Mexico, Panama.

While Putin gets Europe and China the Pacific.

Putin has told Trump he can pillage North America and keep the profits.

But yes make no mistake, Putin will screw over Trump big time.

[no_hypocrisy]

13. I'm guessing that he wants to be paid the fees to use the Panama Canal.

Of course, claiming the United States is collecting the money. (It kills him to think that somebody else is making money that he should get.)

[Irish_Dem]

16. Yes I agree. He wants to be the richest man in the world.

And he is looking at big revenue sources.
Canada, Mexico, Panama.

He thinks North and Central America belong to him.

Like Putin and Xi, and all fascist leaders, they think everything belongs to them.

[CentralMass]

2. When in doubt the answer "because he's an f'n @$$hole" is always right.

[Wiz Imp]

4. With "he thinks he can make money off it" as a very close second.

[RockRaven]

3. It is also because his brain is about a century out of date when it comes to

policy solutions to any given problem (real or perceived).

[rsdsharp]

5. Ronald Reagan literally got pissed off at me for be asking why we should take the Canal from a sovereign nation.

His answer, after huffing and puffing, was CHINA!

[Yavin4]

6. All we've done as a nation since the 80s is give corporations and rich people massive tax cuts and subsidies

We've neglected public investment in domestic infrastructure which opened a lane for China to exploit global trade. Now, all we have is a billionaire class and nothing else. Being mad at China for beating us at global trade is dumb talk and nothing more. We're in this situation because the Republican view of domestic policy has governed how appropriate our budget. Every Democratic president since Reagan has had to spend precious political capital just fixing the shit show left to them by Republicans. So, even when we have a Democratic president, we cannot make the kinds of necessary public investments which allows us to compete globally.

We have let the greed of a few make us subservient to China.

[LudwigPastorius]

7. Trump wants a war that's an easy "win" because...

presidents have additional powers during times of war, including the power to regulate (i.e. shut down) certain media outlets as he sees fit.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. He's not going to get an easy win in Panama.

Though I say that cautiously because Trump now has Musk's wallet in his back pocket.

[LudwigPastorius]

9. Panama abolished its standing army in 1990.

While there are no longer any U.S. military bases there, there's not much the country could do if Trump decided to invade it again.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I don't even want to think about it.

So many MAGAs and Trumpers I know live there. But I'm not so sure they would welcome this change. If there is loss of Panamanian life there, that symbiotic paradise they live in may cease to exist.

[duncang]

12. He used to have

A tower there. But like his other ventures he didn’t like to pay fees he was obligated to pay. TFG’s employees destroyed documents they were supposed to keep. You know the normal tfg illegal stuff. Telling investors the costs were lower than it actually was and making more profit than it actually was. Essentially Panama is on his enemies list.

[bonzotex]

18. Exactly, it's as simple as that. He knows shit about Panama and the canal.

Trump carries a grudge because in 2018 he lost naming rights to a gaudy hotel and casino in Panama.

https://apnews.com/general-news-381aedfac3d449f7b8263c3e124adb88

"PANAMA CITY (AP) — A luxury hotel and condominium tower in Panama City that used to bear the Trump name was formally rebranded Tuesday as the JW Marriott after a bitter dispute over control that ended with the U.S. president’s family company evicted."

[Baitball Blogger]

17. kick for the morning crowd

[bonzotex]

19. Thanks, good article from the CSIS.

I was stationed in Panama with the USAF from 93-96. Revisited in 2008. I have very fond memories of Panama and the people. It's a complicated Nation with a unique role in world trade. China stepped in to fill a development vacuum that the US created due to neglect.

I'm surprised how little most Americans know about Panama. I'm also sometimes shocked by the attitudes of the "Zonies" that grew up there. Some are still pissed that The US gave up the canal zone and have uber capitalistic arguments why we need to control the canal. At the same time, they don't recognize the socialist government funded bubble world they grew up in. A very odd corner of American Imperialist history.

The US is not going to re-invade Panama so Trump can settle his grudges and look like a tough guy. In a season of stupid ideas, this one stands out. He'll forget about it and move on once he finds another target for his poo-flinging.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

20. Trump Companies Accused of Tax Evasion in Panama

This is a typical trump stunt. Panama dared to enforce the law against this asshole and now trump wants to go to war.

Link to tweet

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-companies-accused-tax-evasion-panama

The owners of a 70-story Panama City hotel tower formerly managed by President Donald Trump’s companies are accusing them of stiffing the Panamanian government.

In a legal filing Monday in an ongoing lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, private equity manager Orestes Fintiklis and the company he leads, Ithaca Capital Partners, claimed that two Trump companies failed to pay Panamanian taxes equal to 12.5% of the management fees they drew from the hotel.

The Trump entities were allegedly supposed to withhold those fees in advance and pay them to the government regardless of whether the property was profitable or not. Instead, the Trump companies simply kept the money, the suit claims, “thus intentionally evading taxes.” That and other financial irregularities exposed Fintiklis and the companies he represents “to millions of dollars in liability,” according to the suit, which also claims Trump companies sought to cover up their actions. The filing does not say whether a tax penalty has been levied by Panamanian authorities.......

Trump’s company tried unsuccessfully to convince Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela to intervene on Trump’s behalf. When Fintiklis’ group eventually took control, it found walls had been hastily built to obstruct access to certain areas — one was in the middle of a hallway, another in front of an elevator bank — including inner offices. Trump employees also shredded hotel documents, Fintiklis’ group alleged.

[roamer65]

21. Panama should not budge one inch on its fees.

Not one.