Trump says U.S. is 'reclaiming' Panama Canal after BlackRock strikes deal to buy ports

A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its stake in two Panama Canal ports to U.S. and Swiss investors amid pressure from the Trump administration over the ports’ ties to China.

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong-based conglomerate has agreed to sell its stake in two Panama Canal ports to U.S. and Swiss investors amid pressure from the Trump administration over the ports’ ties to China.

CK Hutchison, a conglomerate founded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed in principle to sell its controlling stake in a unit that operates the two ports to a consortium that includes the U.S. asset manager BlackRock, the companies said Tuesday.

President Donald Trump had argued that the Chinese-backed ports, one each at the canal’s Pacific and Atlantic entrances, posed a national security threat because they gave the Chinese military potential control of the strategically vital canal.

Though CK Hutchison said the proposed sale was unrelated to politics, Trump touted it as a victory in his Tuesday night address to a joint session of Congress.

“My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it,” he said. “Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trump-china-panama-canal-ports-blackrock-rcna194833

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