Trump's call for free US passage through Suez Canal sparks outcry in Egypt

CAIRO - US President Donald Trump's recent call for free passage of American ships through the Suez Canal has triggered widespread condemnation in Egypt, where legal experts, political leaders, and citizens have denounced his remarks as legally groundless and a serious threat to the international order.

On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social, a social media platform he majority-owns, that US military and commercial vessels should be allowed to travel through both the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal free of charge.

He claimed both routes would "not exist" without the United States and said he had asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately "take care of, and memorialize, this situation."

"Trump's proposals about international waterways constitute a serious threat to international peace, security, and public order," Ayman Salama, professor of international law at Cairo University, told Xinhua on Monday.

Salama highlighted the 1888 Constantinople Convention, which established the fundamental principles governing international dealings with the Suez Canal, preserving the right of all countries to benefit from this global waterway.

He said Trump's "legally baseless" claims, which ignore the sovereignty of coastal states over their territorial waters and straits, could lead to interference in countries' internal affairs, a clear violation of the general principle of non-interference of contemporary international law.

Warning against disruption to international trade and harm to the global economy by US interference, the Egyptian legal expert urged the international community to stand firm in defending international laws and conventions and take serious steps to safeguard the legal bases for navigation.

Meanwhile, Samaa Soliman, deputy chairman of the Foreign, Arab, and African Affairs Committee of the Egyptian Senate, affirmed on Monday that "only Egypt is responsible for securing and protecting the Suez Canal," and the revenues generated from canal transit fees are a legitimate sovereign resource backing the national economy and serving Egyptian citizens, and shall not be impaired under any pretext or justification.

The Egyptian senator termed Trump's call as "unjustified interference in the affairs of a sovereign state, and is inconsistent with the principle of mutual respect between states."

Soliman said that the Suez Canal and the Egyptian economy have been harmed by the US as its unfair policies on the Palestinian issue fueled the region's instability and failed to stop the Houthis in Yemen.

Egypt's revenues from the Suez Canal fell by more than 60 percent year-on-year in 2024 amid the Red Sea tensions, resulting in a loss of nearly $7 billion, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

Sayed Abdel Aal, president of Egypt's socialist Tagammu Party, said in a statement on Sunday that "(Trump's) remarks not only represent provocative rhetoric but also reveal a hateful colonial mentality."

The party leader explained that canal fees are fair and are determined according to international standards, without discrimination, adding that the United States cannot impose exceptional conditions.

"Trump's call can only be viewed as economic colonialism in a new garment," he added.

Also on Sunday, the Egyptian Parties Alliance, which includes approximately 42 political parties, condemned Trump's statement, criticizing it as "ignoring historical facts."

The controversy has ignited strong reactions on Egyptian social media, particularly regarding Trump's suggestion that the United States deserves credit for the canal's existence.

"Our grandfathers built the Suez Canal with their blood when America was engulfed in civil war. We will continue the course of our ancestors, and Trump will not impose his conditions on us," read one widely shared post.

The canal, which opened in 1869, has long been the linchpin of global trade, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Despite its complex colonial history under French and British control, the canal has remained a powerful symbol of national pride for Egyptians, particularly since its nationalization in 1956 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser, a pivotal moment in Egypt's modern history.