On the campaign trail and since taking office, President Donald Trump has discussed taking back control of the Panama Canal from Panama several times. Regular IndustryWeek contributor Andrew R. Thomas says the canal is more important now than at any time in its history because of the growing use of the waterway by China and the growth of U.S. liquefied natural gas exports.
However, he sees the possibility of a U.S. takeover as extremely remote. A far more likely outcome will be some U.S.-favoring policy changes from Panama that could expand U.S. influence over the shipping lanes and slow the flow of migrants from South American into Central and North America.
This video discussion follows two articles that Thomas recently wrote for IndustryWeek, explaining how the U.S. lost interest in the Panama Canal, why it's interested again and how these issues will likely play out in the coming months and years.
Or, listen here for the podcast version of Robert Schoenberger's full conversation with Andrew R. Thomas.
