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| 'Trump just ripped off China by having Panama's Supreme Court rule their concession null and void after they refused to sell to Blackrock. Thanks for the improvements, we'll be taking it now. | |
| 2026-02-06 | |
[Arnaud Bertrand What's happening in Panama with the "China-owned" ports (which actually aren't China-owned)
I'm not exaggerating: Panama's Supreme Court just ruled that the 29-year old concession of the ports is suddenly "unconstitutional". Legally speaking, this means the concession was never valid so there's nothing to compensate for. Effectively the ruling says that CK Hutchison - the Hong Kong company that invested $1.8 billion to build the ports into world-class facilities and paid fees to Panama to operate them during 29 years - did all of this illegally, without anyone in Panama noticing for 28 years, until Trump decided he wanted the ports... [W]hen the concession was originally awarded in 1997, the U.S. government itself investigated it extensively - the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Federal Maritime Commission (at the request of six senators), and the intelligence community all reviewed the process. Their conclusion: there was no discrimination against US companies under US law, and CK Hutchison's presence posed no threat to Canal operations or US interests. The State Department also confirmed that PPC (the subsidiary of CK Hutchison that actually runs the 2 ports) had no significant investment from mainland China, was run out of Featherstone, England with British, New Zealand, and Australian senior management, and a virtually 100% Panamanian workforce. It's all in a 1999 State Department report:"We have explored concerns that [CK Hutchison] is a front for the government of the People's Republic of China. We have found no information to substantiate that allegation." So in effect this is the U.S. stealing ports from a company it already investigated and cleared - using a lie it debunked itself 27 years ago. Arnaud Bertrand is an entrepreneur and commentator on economics and geopolitics. He founded HouseTrip and Me & Qi. I love having a sharper on our side for once. It's so great to be ripping off other countries instead of getting ripped off. When you're on the other side of the table from the master dealmaker and he's holding all the cards, woe to you. And all without dropping a single bomb. Related: CK Hutchison 01/31/2026 Chinese Contract At Panama Canal Ruled Unconstitutional In Win For Trump's 'Donroe Doctrine' CK Hutchison 07/29/2025 China may gain greater control of Panama Canal after BlackRock deal misses deadline CK Hutchison 04/05/2025 FBI Director Patel leads charge to root out Chinese influence on US soil | |
| Posted by:Jairong+Scourge+of+the+Gepids2435 |
| #2 |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2026-02-06 21:28 |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2026-02-06 13:14 |