(April 10, 2026)
Egypt and Panama charge fees to allow vessels to pass through Suez Canal and Panama Canal, respectively. This is because the international laws are different for straits and canals.
While straits occur naturally, canals are dug up manually. Hence, the countries controlling the canals take transit fee from vessels for allowing them to pass through.
(March 5, 2025)
But while much attention was focused on Mr. Trump‘s threat to retake control of the canal, his administration trained its sights on Hutchison Ports, the Hong Kong-based consortium that manages the canal‘s key ports, at either end of the canal. As a result of BlackRock‘s deal with CK Hutchison Holding, those two key ports will be placed under American control.
(December 23, 2024)
The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts. Washington relinquished control of the waterway to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.