President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to take back control of the Panama Canal if Panama does not stop charging “ridiculous” fees to use the vital shipping route. 

Panama currently charges fees for boats and ships to pass through the canal ranging anywhere from $0.50 to $300,000, depending on the size and purpose of the vessel. The U.S. uses the canal more than any other country, accounting for more than three quarters of the cargo traveling through the passage each year.

“The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama by the U.S,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday. “This complete ‘rip-off’ of our Country will immediately stop….”

“If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” Trump added. “To the Officials of Panama, please be guided accordingly!

The U.S. gave up control of the 51-mile canal in 1999 under a 1979 treaty negotiated by President Jimmy Carter.

“When President Jimmy Carter foolishly gave it away, for One Dollar, during his term in Office, it was solely for Panama to manage, not China, or anyone else,” he stated. “It was likewise not given for Panama to charge the United States, its Navy, and corporations, doing business within our Country, exorbitant prices and rates of passage.” 

China is the canal’s second-biggest customer. A Hong Kong–based Chinese company controls two of the five ports adjacent to the canal.

Trump went on to say the U.S. has a “vested interest in the secure, efficient, and reliable operation of the Panama Canal.”

“We would and will NEVER let it fall into the wrong hands! It was not given for the benefit of others, but merely as a token of cooperation with us and Panama,” he said.

Trump argued the U.S. is being treated “in a very unfair and injudicious way.”