Central America

China warned Panama that it would pay "heavy" prices if a court decision in Panama annulled the contract of Hong Kong's CK Hutchison to operate?two port at the Panama Canal. China's Hong Kong & Macau?Affairs Office branded the ruling of Panama's Supreme Court as "absurd", "shameful, and pathetic" and vowed that it would defend the interests Chinese firms. The Panamanian authorities didn't immediately respond to our request for comment. The court's ruling last week invalidated a contract held by Panama Ports Company (a CK Hutchison subordinate) since the 1990s to operate container terminals on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of...

The Panama Supreme Court annulled CK Hutchison’s contract last week to operate two Panama Canal Ports. This was part of a deal worth $23 billion to sell all the global port assets owned by the Hong Kong-based conglomerate. Court said that the contract of Panama?Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, violated Panama’s constitution because it gave the company exclusive tax benefits and privileges. What We Know: CK 'Hutchison is controlled by Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka -shing. In March last year, a deal was announced that covered 43 ports in '23 countries', 'including two near the Panama Canal',...

The Panama Supreme Court ruled that a contract signed by a Hong Kong-based company in 1990 to operate the ports at the Panama Canal was in violation of the Panama Constitution and did not serve the public interest. The court released its decision on Friday, but did not explain the reasoning behind it. The decision was first reported by local TVN, and has since been confirmed by an official of the court. The decision was a win for Washington amid intensifying U.S. - China rivalry on global trade routes and President Donald Trump’s attempts to exert dominance over Latin America....

Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino stated?on Friday? that ports will continue to operate in the 'country despite a?Supreme Court ruling which annulled key port contracts by a Hong Kong-based subsidiary, CK Hutchison. The future of some key ports near the Panama Canal is still unclear after the ruling made on Thursday. Mulino stated that APM Terminals Panama (a Maersk subsidiary) has expressed a willingness to temporarily takeover the operation of the Balboa & Cristobal terminals, after a period of transition during which the current operator will remain. He stated that he has had discussions with multiple companies. Mulino stated during...

The Supreme Court of Panama, late Thursday night, annulled the key 'port contracts' held by a subsidiary of CK Hutchison based in Hong Kong. They ruled that the contracts violated the constitution and left the future of operations along the Panama Canal uncertain. Since the 1990s, Panama?Ports company, a CK Hutchison subordinate, has?held contracts to operate container terminals 'at the canal's Pacific & Atlantic entrances', apart from the waterway operations. The?ruling is seen as a victory for Washington where President Donald 'Trump has pushed hard to curb Chinese influence and increase U.S. control of?the waterway. The critics of these contracts,...

Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the situation, reported that CK Hutchison was considering a restructured'sale' of dozens ports to a global consortium. This would involve breaking 'the transaction up into smaller parcels, each with a different ownership structure. CK Hutchison - based in the 'Chinese controlled territory' of Hong Kong - has been heavily criticized by Beijing after it announced plans last year to'sell 43 ports across the 23 countries including two near the Panama Canal, to a consortium headed by BlackRock - and Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte’s family-controlled MSC shipping group. The report stated that under the proposed...

PANAMA CITY - The Panama Maritime Authority announced on Friday that the port's traffic will increase by 3.6% to 9.9'million TEU containers in 2025 compared to last year. Central American ports are fed into the Panama Canal. The canal is a vital passageway connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, and it's a major route for global trade. * The SSA Marine Manzanillo 'International Terminal', located on Panama’s Atlantic Coast, handled 2.9 millions TEUs in 2024, a 5% increase. * The Panama Ports Company (PPC) Balboa Terminal saw 2.7 MILLION TEU containers, up 2%. Its Cristobal terminal saw an...

Oleksiy Kuleba, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said that Russian drones attacked two foreign-flagged ships on Monday. This was the second attack on Black Sea shipping in four days. Kuleba stated that the vessels were flying the flags of Panama and San Marino. He also said one person was injured. He added that the San Marino flagged vessel had just been loaded with corn and was on its way to Panama to pick up vegetable oil. Kuleba posted on Telegram that "this is further proof that Russia is deliberately targeting civilian vessels, international commerce, and maritime security." Sources familiar with the...

Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum deferred Tuesday questions about the?record of a passenger?train that derailed at the weekend, killing thirteen people and injuring another 98. This was the latest of several accidents that put pressure on the?government? to improve the safety on flagship projects. Opposition lawmakers have demanded an investigation after questioning the conductor, who survived. Sheinbaum told her Tuesday regular press conference that the prosecutor's office had already interviewed several people, including the operator. They will need to report on what happens next. This is the third train crash this year in Mexico. Two derailments have occurred on the new...

Mexican authorities said that on Sunday, at least 13 people were killed when an Interoceanic Train?derailed?in the southern state of Oaxaca. The Mexican Navy reported that the train derailed near Nizanda was carrying 250 passengers, including nine crew and 241 passengers. Of the 193 passengers, 193 were reported as being in a safe condition, while 98 others were injured. Claudia Sheinbaum, the president of X, said that five of the injured are in critical condition. She added that senior officials have been dispatched to the scene to help the families. In a post on social media, Ernestina Godoy Ramos, Mexico's...

After inspections raised safety concerns about the English skills of some staff, the U.S. Transportation Department announced Friday it would place restrictions on Mexican train crews operating in the United States. Federal Railroad Administration of the Department sent letters to Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited on Friday after inspectors found that inbound crews appeared to be having difficulty understanding bulletins and communicating with inspectors safety requirements in English. The Department of Transportation?said that uncertified crews operating trains for the two railroads in the U.S. could not travel more than 10 miles from their entry point. They must...

BlackRock and MSC’s bid to buy most of CK Hutchison’s global port operations is facing a major obstacle in Europe. EU antitrust regulators are set to investigate the Spanish part of the deal. CK Hutchison, owned by Hong Kong tycoon Li Kashing, wants to sell 80% of its stake in the $22.8billion ports business. This includes 43 ports in 23 different countries. It is a politically sensitive transaction that has become entangled in tensions between China and the United States. BlackRock and MSC could be asked to make concessions in exchange for the clearance of the Spanish deal, as a...

Argentina, a global food supplier, is planning to boost its grain and mineral exports through privatization, and a modernization program of its railway network. Industry leaders claim that this will reduce freight costs in regions located far from ports by half. The first tender will be for the Belgrano Cargas, which runs the three biggest freight train lines in the country. The initiative, which will be launched in early 2019, could increase production of global commodities like soybeans and corn. It also includes copper and lithium. The project could also help transport sand from Vaca Muerta in Argentina's Southwest. The...

The State Department announced on Monday that the United States will impose visa restrictions on those in Nicaragua who are responsible for facilitating illegal immigration into the country. This includes the owners of travel agencies, tour operators, and transportation companies. According to a non-specific statement, the State Department has taken action to revoke some visas. The Department of Homeland Security said that "investigations show the entities represented by these individuals facilitated travel to Nicaragua. This was enabled by the Nicaraguan dictatorship’s migration policies, which are permissive and designed this way. These policies destabilize the area and encourage illegal immigration into...

Mexico's automotive industry has warned of "complexity" in the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Executives cited concerns about tighter rules for origin and the scrutiny of Asian components. Heavy-vehicle makers expressed their concerns at the CIAN Automotive Conference about adapting to current rules while meeting USMCA requirements. To qualify for tariff-free entry, the agreement requires that a percentage of vehicle components originate in North America. Rogelio Garca, president of the National Association of Bus, Truck and Tractor Truck Manufacturers, (ANPACT), said that the current rule is not feasible, given the fact that components are often imported multiple times prior...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy. Mexico is planning to increase import tariffs on almost 1,500 products including cars, steel, textiles and appliances to protect the domestic industry and job opportunities, particularly from cheap Chinese goods. This comes amid wider trade talks with both the U.S. Oracle has signed an unprecedented $300 billion cloud computing contract with OpenAI to support massive AI expansion starting in 2027. This is one of the biggest tech contracts ever, and signals a high-stakes wager on ChatGPT’s continued...

A freight train crashed into a double decker passenger bus in central Mexico, killing 10 people and injuring at least 61 others. The train operator claimed that the double decker bus was trying to pass the moving train. Canadian Pacific Kansas City de Mexico, the railroad, sent condolences and urged drivers to obey road signs and stop at railroad crossings. Herradura de Plata, the bus operator in question, did not respond immediately to a comment request. First responders had cordoned off and photographed the scene. The bus's metal frame was badly dented as well as the front of its top...

Mexican truck drivers from the border city Ciudad Juarez are studying English to comply with a President Donald Trump executive order that requires commercial drivers to be proficient in English. To meet U.S. standards, 50 truck drivers hauling goods between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso in Texas attend four to eight hours a week of English classes organized by their employers, Fletes Sotelo. Manuel Sotelo said that classes began six weeks ago and the goal was to have all drivers of the company know basic English. Sotelo also serves as the president of Ciudad Juarez's transport association. Jose Murguia...

In recent days, protests by indigenous peoples and poor roads disrupted the shipping of Brazil's bumper soya crop via the river port Miritituba within the Amazon rainforest. This has caused concern for global companies such as Cargill and Bunge who have important operations. Abiove, the association of grain handlers in Nigeria, reported on Friday that road access to Miritituba had been partially or totally blocked for two weeks. This has prevented the shipment of almost 70,000 tons per day of grain, equivalent to almost $30 millions of product value. In a statement issued jointly with the farm group Aprosoja Brasil,...

The tariffs imposed by U.S. president Donald Trump on Mexican imports pose a significant risk to farmers in Jacksonville. This is because Mexico's retaliation could cause corn buyers to switch to South American rivals. Mexico is the top corn-importing country in the world. At a time when prices of grains have plummeted and chemical and seed costs for crops are on the rise, this market is crucial for U.S. producers. Farmers in Jacksonville, a small city of 17,000 residents, are more likely to benefit from Mexican demand than other farmers. The residents live near a grain loading facility where corn...

Presidentelect Donald Trump's threatened tariffs on the top trade partners China, Mexico and Canada would deal a blow to the $1.7 trillion U.S. transportation industry and worsen a nearly threeyear trucking recession, sector experts stated. The market that moves whatever Americans make and buy is considered a financial bellwether, and will be amongst the first to signify any unexpected consequences of trade policies that Trump says will assist, not hurt, U.S. organizations. Tariffs like those proposed will raise costs, and higher rates suggest less need. Less demand equates to less freight, stated Jason Miller, interim chair of the department of...

Berkshire Hathawayowned BNSF Train will resume providing licenses for grain shuttle bus heading to Mexico beginning Tuesday, the company informed Reuters on Monday, in a relocation that could assist alleviate some delays impacting agricultural exports. The news comes as U.S. East and Gulf Coast port employees are set to go on strike on Tuesday, without any talks presently set up to avoid an interruption. Rail stockpiles have actually been interrupting export trade between the United States and Mexico and snarling farming supply chains as the fall harvest is under method. In late August, BNSF stopped issuing licenses for grain shuttle...

Brazilian cargo business Modern Logistics expects to get in the U.S. and Mexican markets in the next few months as it puts in location an expansion technique that will include looking at merger and acquisition opportunities in the brief to midterm. WHY IT is necessary Modern is a big player in the fast-growing cargo market in Latin America's largest economy, which has actually been increased in recent years by e-commerce and facilities financial investments. RESTRUCTURING Established in the 2010s by former Azul executives, Modern underwent a restructuring last year that saw previous FedEx executive Cristiano Koga selected as CEO. The...

Canada is seeing an extraordinary simultaneous blockage at its two primary freight rail operators that might cause billions of dollars worth of financial damage. The two rail operators, Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, are holding different talks with the Teamsters' union, which represents more than 9,000 employees including locomotive engineers, conductors, train and backyard employees and rail traffic controllers. The companies locked out workers on Thursday after stopping working to reach a labor deal. Here are a couple of crucial facts about the two rail operators: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND CN Rail's history dates back to the 1830s, however...