President-elect Trump launched a tirade against Panama Canal tolls on Saturday, claiming the U.S. was being ripped off by high prices.

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump complained at length about the fees charged to U.S. ships passing through the Big Ditch. Tolls for the Panama Canal can range from three to six figures, depending on how large a ship is and how much cargo it is carrying. The largest ships charge up to $500,000.

“The Panama Canal is considered a MAJOR national asset to the United States because of its critical role in the American economy and national security,” Trump wrote in his post. “A secure Panama Canal is critical to U.S. trade and rapid deployment of the Navy from the Atlantic to the Pacific, dramatically reducing transportation times to U.S. ports.”

The new president criticized former President Carter, who Trump said “foolishly gave away for a dollar.” In 1977, Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty, which phased out U.S. control of the canal until 1999.

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President-elect Trump railed against Panama Canal tolls in a Truth Social post on Saturday. (Getty Images/Getty Images)

Carter also signed the Treaty of Neutrality, which ensured tolls were equal for all nations. Trump indicated that the United States should receive preferential treatment in his office.

“Our Navy and our commerce have been treated in a very unfair and careless manner,” the president-elect argued. “The fees charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially given the extraordinary generosity the U.S. has shown to Panama. This complete ‘rip-off’ of our country will stop immediately.”

Trump also floated the idea of ​​demanding that ownership of the canal be returned to the United States if American ships were not treated fairly.

“(The Panama Canal) was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a sign of cooperation with us and Panama,” Trump concluded. “If the moral and legal principles of this generous gesture of giving are not followed, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in full and without question.”

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A cargo ship and tug sail through the Cocoli Locks on the Panama Canal in Panama, August 12, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“To Panamanian officials, please be guided accordingly!”

Trump also pointed out that the canal was built at enormous cost to the United States, although he falsely claimed that 38,000 Americans died during its construction. The National Institutes for Health estimates the number of people who died while working on American canal construction at about 5,600.

It is unclear how many of those who died were Americans, as much of the workforce was recruited from the Caribbean. Trump may also have included the approximately 22,000 workers who died in the French attempt to build the canal in the 1880s.

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In an aerial photo, a ship prepares to pass through the Aqua Clara locks at the entrance to the Panama Canal on September 20, 2023 in Colón, Panama. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)

The Department of Government Efficiency’s Report X recently claimed that the Panama Canal cost U.S. taxpayers $15.7 billion. The US government does not subsidize the canal. Ships that pass through it pay tolls.