The Panama Canal is changing hands in a major deal that’s shaking up global trade routes. Here’s what’s happening:
CK Hutchison, a big company from Hong Kong, is selling its ports near the Panama Canal to a group led by BlackRock, an American investment firm. This $23 billion deal means American companies will now control these important shipping hubs instead of a Chinese-linked business.
President Trump has been complaining loudly about China having too much power over the Panama Canal. He even threatened to take the canal back for America if things didn’t change. This sale seems to be partly because of that pressure from Trump.
The Panama Canal is super important for world trade. About 6% of all global sea shipments go through it every year. It lets ships take a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans instead of going all the way around South America.
For a long time, the U.S. used to run the Panama Canal. But in 1999, it was given back to Panama to control. Trump thinks that was a mistake and wants America to have more say over how the canal is used.
This big sale of the ports near the canal to an American company is a win for Trump. He can say he’s pushed out Chinese influence and put American businesses in charge of this key trade route again.
But Panama’s leaders are angry about Trump butting in. They say Panama is in full control of the canal and no other country gets to decide how it’s run.
This fight over the Panama Canal shows how trade routes can become political battlegrounds between big powers like the U.S. and China. As shipping companies adjust to the new American owners of these important ports, it could change how goods move around the world.
