US Withdrawal from Torrijos-Carter Treaties would not Reverse Sovereignty over the Panama Canal

During the US Senate hearing on the Panama Canal, international law expert Eugene Kontorovich stated that although the United States has the ability to withdraw from the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, which ceded the maritime route to Panama, it would not automatically reverse the transferred sovereignty.  “I think treaties like this demonstrate that countries really need to think carefully before giving up strategic assets,” Kontorovich said.  These statements come after Republican Senator Ted Cruz raised the possibility that a violation of the treaty could lead to its annulment and, consequently, allow the United States to regain control of the Canal.  

Cruz also said that the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation “has jurisdiction” to examine evidence of possible violations of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties by Panama.  Kontorovich, for his part, noted that “concessions related to sovereign control are not particularly reversible,” citing as an example an agreement between Israel and Lebanon on maritime territory that also does not allow for automatic recovery in the event of non-compliance.  Cruz was emphatic in stating that the fact that Chinese companies manage ports at both ends of the Canal and are building a bridge over it, could allow China to block passage through the maritime route without warning and use the ports as strategic observation points.  “This situation poses acute risks to the national security of the United States,” warned Cruz, who also pointed to the increase in transit fares as another point of friction.