The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)
If it becomes law, the bill would give the president authority to act in coordination with the secretary of state, to "initiate and conduct negotiations with appropriate counterparts of the Government of the Republic of Panama to reacquire the Panama Canal."
From the date the measure is enacted, the president has 180 days to submit a report to Congress detailing the progress of the negotiations, potential challenges and anticipated outcomes.
The U.S. Department of State estimates around 72% of all vessels that travel through the Panama Canal are coming from or going to a U.S. port.
Noting the canal's strategic importance to the United States, Johnson's office also noted how the waterway is a key transit point for U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Defense vessels.
Without access to the canal, ships would be forced to travel 8,000 additional miles around South America.
"More than 10,000 ships use the Panama Canal each year, generating billions of dollars of tolls which would economically benefit America," Johnson's office said.
At a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he would assure the world he would not use "military or economic coercion" to gain control of the Panama Canal, as well as Greenland.
President-elect Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Johnson's office referenced China's growing influence in the region around the Panama Canal.
"In 2018, Panama was the first country in Latin America to join the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Belt and Road Initiative, and investments from PRC firms in canal infrastructure has only increased since. Further, PRC companies have managing rights for the two ports on either side of the canal," the congressman's office wrote.
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Two seaports on either side of the Panama Canal have been run for decades by the Hong-Kong-based company Hutchison Ports PPC, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper highlighted how the Chinese government has increasingly implemented its national security laws on the island of Hong Kong that can force companies to comply with intelligence-gathering and military operations.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-introduce-bill-repurchase-panama-canal-after-trump-raises-concerns-chinese-control