Panama leaders reassert sovereignty over Panama Canal after Trump threat

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino reaffirmed the country's sovereignty over the Panama Canal in a statement signed alongside three former presidents of the country on Tuesday in response to recent threats made by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to take control of the canal.

Calling the Panama Canal "a vital national asset for the United States", Trump on Saturday slammed what he called unfair fees for U.S. ships passing through the Canal and threatened to demand control of the waterway be "returned" to Washington.

Trump's statement has been met with fierce opposition from the Panama side.

Tuesday's statement by the presidents restated that the sovereignty and independence of Panama are not negotiable.

"As former presidents, we support the statements of President Jose Raul Mulino and we unite under the affirmation that the sovereignty of our country and our canal are not negotiable," former presidents Mireya Moscoso, Ernesto Perez Balladares, and Martin Torrijos Espino said in the statement.

The statement noted that the canal has the mission of serving humanity and its trade, which is one of the great values that Panamanians offer to the world, giving the international community a guarantee of not taking part, or being an active part in any conflict.

Also on Tuesday, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) said in a statement that its member states strongly reject the statements made by Trump.

The Panama Canal is an important commercial passageway protected by International Law, the Torrijos-Carter Treaty and the Treaty Relating to the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, which, as an immovable law, establishes that the waterway is an inalienable part of Panamanian territory, and therefore this claim represents an aggression against the sovereignty of that country, said the statement.

The Bolivarian Alliance categorically rejects this new threat to the Latin American and Caribbean region and supports Panama in the defense of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and self-determination, the statement said.

The Panama Canal, an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic with the Pacific, was completed by the United States in 1914 and returned to Panama in 1999 under a treaty signed by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos. The deal relinquishes American control over the canal by year 2000 and guarantees its neutrality.

Panama leaders reassert sovereignty over Panama Canal after Trump threat

Panama leaders reassert sovereignty over Panama Canal after Trump threat

Nearly 75 million people across China have benefited from the country's new trade-in program effective since the beginning of 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, officials from the Ministry of Finance briefed on China's fiscal revenue and expenditure in the first quarter of 2026.

Regarding the consumer goods trade-in program, it had generated 540 billion yuan (about 79 billion U.S. dollars) in sales as of April 19, according to the latest official data released by the Ministry of Finance.

China has allocated a total of 125 billion yuan (18.24 billion U.S. dollars) raised from the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds in two batches to support the new trade-in program.

Apart from the unified subsidy policy nationwide, local authorities are also able to roll out their own subsidy policies to further stimulate consumption potentials.

"Under the trade-in program, the sales of new energy passenger cars priced at 200,000 yuan (29,255 U.S. dollars) or higher per unit increased by 5 percent year on year in the first quarter. More digital and smart products have been covered by the trade-in program, which has made them a new hotspot for this year's trade-in program. This led to a 20.8-percent year-on-year growth in retail sales of telecommunications equipment above the designated size in the January-March period," said Wu Gai, deputy director of the Department of Economic Construction with the Ministry of Finance.

Early this year, the Ministry of Finance launched a lottery invoice pilot program across about 50 cities nationwide with a subsidy of 10 billion yuan (1.46 billion U.S. dollars), covering major consumer sectors such as retail, catering, culture and tourism, and sports.

By the end of April 19, 3.68 billion yuan (538.3 million U.S. dollars) worth of lottery invoices had been distributed, driving sales of approximately 160 billion yuan (23.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the related sectors. About 410 million people had received scratch-and-win receipts, with 170 million winning prizes.

China’s new trade-in program benefits nearly 75 million people in 2026