U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, said Wednesday he will introduce legislation that would authorize President-elect Donald Trump to purchase the Panama Canal “if he can get a good deal.”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not,” Johnson said, “but I do know I want to give President Trump the flexibility he needs to examine it.”
Those comments came during a Wednesday evening tele-town hall with constituents. Earlier in the day, Johnson spoke about the idea on Fox News. He will introduce the bill Friday, he said, ahead of a dinner he plans to attend Sunday with the president-elect and other guests at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.
Trump said Tuesday during a press conference that he would not rule out using military force to take control of the canal.
The United States built the Panama Canal in the early 1900s. In 1977, in response to Panamanian demands for control of the canal, then-President Jimmy Carter signed treaties that led to a full transfer in 1999.
Carter gave a speech at the time saying the agreements would convert Panama from a “passive and sometimes deeply resentful bystander into an active and interested partner,” and would lead to “cooperation and not confrontation” between the U.S. and Panama.
A company in Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings, currently operates seaports on each side of the canal. Hong Kong is a former British Colony that has maintained a separate government and economic system since being handed over to China in 1997.
Fears have risen about China’s potentially growing influence over the canal as China has exerted more influence over Hong Kong in recent years.
Johnson said that’s a problem for the United States, which sends 40% of its ocean shipping container traffic through the canal.
“Donald Trump wants to kill the trade deficit,” Johnson said. “We can’t do that if we can’t count on the Panama Canal.”
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