WASHINGTON: Marco Rubio heads Saturday to Panama on his debut trip abroad as US secretary of state as he looks for how to follow up on President Donald Trump’s extraordinary threat to seize the Panama Canal.
Rubio’s travel comes the same day that Trump’s promised tariffs on the three largest US trading partners – Canada, Mexico and China – are set to come into effect, another step showing a far more aggressive US foreign policy.
Rubio will travel later to four other small Latin American countries for an agenda focused on migration, a highly unusual first trip for the top US diplomat, whose predecessors were more likely to start the job with language of cooperation with major allies.
Trump has refused to rule out military force to seize the Panama Canal, which the United States handed over at the end of 1999, saying that China has exerted too much control through its investment in surrounding ports.
In his inaugural address, Trump said that the United States will be “taking it back” – and he refused to back down Friday.
“They’ve already offered to do many things,” Trump said of Panama, “but we think it’s appropriate that we take it back.”
He alleged that Panama was taking down Chinese-language signs to cover up how “they’ve totally violated the agreement” on the canal.
“Marco Rubio is going over this talk to the gentleman that’s in charge,” Trump told reporters.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino, generally considered an ally of the United States, has ruled out opening negotiations after complaining to the United Nations about Trump’s threat.
“I cannot negotiate, much less open a process of negotiations on the canal,” Mulino said Thursday.
The issue “is sealed. The canal is Panama’s,” Mulino said.
Mulino’s government, however, has ordered an audit of CK Hutchison Holdings, the Hong Kong company that operates ports on both sides of the canal.
It remains to be seen if or how Rubio carries out the threat. Some experts believe that Trump was simply applying pressure and could declare a win by the United States ramping up investment in the canal – an outcome that most Panamanians would welcome.
Rubio has played down the military option but also not contradicted his boss.
“I think the president’s been pretty clear he wants to administer the canal again. Obviously, the Panamanians are not big fans of that idea,” Rubio told SiriusXM radio in an interview before the trip.
He acknowledged that Panama’s government “generally is pro-American” but said that the Panama Canal is a “core national interest for us.”
“We cannot allow any foreign power – particularly China – to hold that kind of potential control over it that they do. That just can’t continue,” Rubio said.
The canal remains the crucial link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and coasts, with 40 percent of US container traffic going through it.
Trump administration officials said they were blaming not Mulino but previous Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela who in 2017 – during Trump’s first term as president – moved to sever ties with Taiwan in favor of China.
“It wasn’t just a diplomatic recognition. He literally opened the floodgates and gave strategic assets throughout the Canal Zone to China,” said Mauricio Claver-Carone, the US special envoy on Latin America.
He charged that Panama unfairly raised costs for US ships while also seeking assistance from the United States for canal upkeep. Panama attributes rising costs to the effects of a drought, exacerbated by climate change.
Trump has quickly made clear he will exercise swift pressure to bend other countries to his will, especially on his signature issue of deporting undocumented immigrants.
On Sunday, he threatened major tariffs against Colombia to force its president to back down after he insisted that repatriated migrants be treated in a more dignified way.
Rubio to make debut in Panama as Trump threatens to take canal
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Rubio to make debut in Panama as Trump threatens to take canal

- Marco Rubio’s travel comes the same day that Trump’s promised tariffs on the three largest US trading partners – Canada, Mexico and China – are set to come into effect
- Rubio will travel later to four other small Latin American countries for an agenda focused on migration, a highly unusual first trip for the top US diplomat
Trump says he will announce reciprocal tariffs on many countries next week

- Higher tariffs to pay for extending 2017 tax cuts
- Trump, Republicans to unveil tax and spending plan this weekend
Trump did not identify which countries would be hit but suggested it would be a broad effort that could also help solve US budget problems.
“I’ll be announcing that, next week, reciprocal trade, so that we’re treated evenly with other countries,” Trump said. “We don’t want any more, any less.”
The move would fulfill Trump’s campaign promise to impose tariffs on American imports equal to rates that trading partners impose on American exports.
Trump made the announcement during a meeting with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He said auto tariffs remained on the table amid reports that the White House was weighing potential exemptions.
The new US president has long complained about the European Union’s 10 percent tariffs on auto imports being much higher than the US car rate of 2.5 percent. He frequently states that Europe “won’t take our cars” but ships millions west across the Atlantic every year.
The US, however, enjoys a 25 percent tariff on pickup trucks, a vital source of profits for Detroit automakers General Motors , Ford and Stellantis’ US operations.
In recent confirmation hearings, Trump’s Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick voiced concerns about India’s high tariff rates, while US Trade Representative nominee Jamieson Greer discussed US complaints about Vietnam’s and Brazil’s tariffs and trade barriers.
The US trade-weighted average tariff rate is about 2.2 percent, according to World Trade Organization data, compared to 12 percent for India, 6.7 percent for Brazil, 5.1 percent for Vietnam and 2.7 percent for European Union countries.
Trump told Republican lawmakers of his plans during budget discussions at the White House on Thursday, three sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. Trump and top aides have said they plan to use higher tariffs on foreign imports to help pay for extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which independent budget analysts say could add trillions of dollars to the US debt.
Increased tariffs could offset some of that cost, though they have only accounted for about 2 percent of annual revenues in recent years.
Trump announced tariffs of 25 percent on Canada and Mexico on Saturday but delayed them after a negative reaction from investors. The two largest US trading partners agreed to increase enforcement efforts at the border, a top Trump priority.
Wall Street extended losses on Friday following the Reuters report of Trump’s discussion with lawmakers.
US consumer sentiment dropped to a seven-month low in February, and attitudes soured among Republicans as households took stock of what they believe will be a surge in inflation from Trump’s tariffs.
Trump and his Republicans aim to unveil their ambitious tax and spending package this weekend. It faces a perilous path through Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Republicans are expected to rely on arcane budget rules to bypass Democratic opposition, which will require them to work in lockstep.
Trump is due to have dinner with Senate Republicans on Friday and attend the Super Bowl with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday.
In his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Greer said other countries will need to reduce barriers to US exports if they want to maintain access to the US market, citing Vietnam in particular.
“I need, if I’m confirmed, to go to these countries and explain to them that if they want to enjoy continued market access to the United States, we need to have better reciprocity,” Greer said.
UK orders Apple to give it access to users’ encrypted accounts, Washington Post reports

- UK’s office of the Home Secretary has served Apple with a document called a technical capability notice, ordering it to provide the access, as per Washington Post
LONDON: Britain’s security officials have ordered that Apple create a so-called ‘back door’ allowing them to retrieve all the content any Apple user worldwide has uploaded to the cloud, The Washington Post reported on Friday citing people familiar with the matter.
Rather than break the security promises it made to its users everywhere, Apple is likely to stop offering encrypted storage in the UK, the report said, citing unnamed sources.
UK’s office of the Home Secretary has served Apple with a document called a technical capability notice, ordering it to provide the access, as per Washington Post.
Apple did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.
Britain’s interior ministry did not immediately comment on the report.
Britain in January used its regulatory powers to launch an investigation into Apple and Google’s smartphone operating systems, app stores and browsers.
Migrants who break law ‘will be deported’: Polish prime minister

- Tusk, whose centrist camp faces an electoral threat from the nationalists in the May presidential vote, has in past months vowed to suspend asylum rights partially and backed curbing benefits for Ukrainian refugees
WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Friday said his government would draw up plans to deport migrants who break the law of the EU country as Poland nears a key presidential election in May.
Tusk also reiterated criticism of the EU migrant relocation scheme during a press conference in the port city of Gdansk alongside European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
“Anyone who is hosted in Poland, takes advantage of our hospitality and violently violates the law will be deported from Poland,” Tusk said.
He added that the government was working on a “plan for an immediate response to organized crime and violent crime carried out by foreigners.”
He said an outline of the plan, drawn up by the justice and interior ministries, would be presented in the coming days.
Tusk, whose centrist camp faces an electoral threat from the nationalists in the May presidential vote, has in past months vowed to suspend asylum rights partially and backed curbing benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
On Friday, he also said Poland would not accept any “burdens” related to the EU migrant relocation scheme.
Last year, the EU significantly overhauled asylum rules, requiring member states to remove thousands of asylum-seekers from “frontline” states such as Italy and Greece.
Alternatively, they could provide money or other resources to under-pressure nations.
“If anyone in Europe were to say that Poland should take on even more burdens, then no matter who it is, I will tell them that Poland will not fulfill that. The end,” Tusk said.
He said Poland had already “opened its borders and hearts to two million refugees from Ukraine” following the Russian invasion and was facing illegal migration across its border with Belarus.
States in eastern Europe have accused Russia and its ally Belarus of pushing thousands of migrants over their borders in recent years as part of a campaign to destabilize Europe.
Zelensky says N Korean troops back on Russia front line

- “There have been new assaults in the Kursk operation areas... the Russian army and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again,” Zelensky said
- The Ukrainian leader said a “significant number” of opposing troops had been “destroyed“
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that North Korean troops were back on the front line in Russia’s Kursk region, after reports Moscow had withdrawn them due to heavy losses.
More than 10,000 soldiers from the reclusive state were sent to Russia last year to help it fight back a shock Ukrainian offensive into the border region, according to South Korean and Western intelligence.
A Ukrainian military spokesman told AFP last Friday that Kyiv had not encountered activity or clashes with North Korean troops for three weeks.
“There have been new assaults in the Kursk operation areas... the Russian army and North Korean soldiers have been brought in again,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
The Ukrainian leader said a “significant number” of opposing troops had been “destroyed.”
“We are talking about hundreds of Russian and North Korean soldiers,” he added.
Kyiv captured dozens of border settlements in its Kursk assault six months ago, the first time a foreign army had crossed into Russian territory since World War II.
The North Korean deployment, never officially confirmed by Moscow or Pyongyang, was supposed to reinforce the Russian army and help them expel Ukraine’s troops.
But as of February Ukraine still holds swathes of Russian territory, something Zelensky sees as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations with Moscow.
UK’s Lammy warns US aid cuts could see China step into ‘gap’

LONDON: British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Friday warned that US President Donald Trump’s moves to freeze foreign aid and dismantle the USAID agency could see “China and others step into that gap.”
The UK’s top diplomat pointed to reforms by Britain’s previous Conservative government to its foreign aid program as “a big strategic mistake” which the new Trump administration should “look closely at.”
In 2020 the UK government closed down the Department for International Development (DfID) and subsumed it into the Foreign Office, before slashing the aid budget the following year.
The moves earned widespread criticism at the time from aid groups and others in the sector, as well as the countries’ opposition parties.
“What I can say to American friends is it’s widely accepted that the decision by the UK with very little preparation to close down DfID, to suspend funding in the short term or give many global partners little heads up, was a big strategic mistake,” Lammy told the Guardian.
“We have spent years unraveling that strategic mistake. Development remains a very important soft power tool. And in the absence of development... I would be very worried that China and others step into that gap,” he added.
“So I would caution US friends to look closely at what went wrong in the United Kingdom as they navigate this decision.”
Trump on Friday called for the United States Agency for International Development to be shut down, in an escalation of his unprecedented campaign to dismantle the massive government aid agency that has prompted confusion and chaos among its global network.
His administration has already frozen foreign aid and ordered thousands of foreign-based staff to return to the United States, with reported impacts on the ground steadily growing.