(NAFB.com) – Reports say President-elect Donald Trump threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal. Farmdoc says he accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the passage, which drew a sharp rebuke from Panama’s president. Speaking to supporters in Arizona, Trump also said he wouldn’t let the Canal fall into the wrong hands, warning of potential Chinese influence on the passage. Reaction from South American experts says Trump’s stance is “baffling” as Panama’s president is considered to be a pro-business conservative who’s made a lot of overtures to show he wants a special relationship with the U.S. “The Panama Canal is a critical choke point for U.S. agriculture and the overall U.S. economy,” says Dennis Rudat of Farm News Media. “Seventy-two percent of all cargo transiting the Panama Canal is either coming or going to the U.S., including a substantial portion of U.S. agricultural exports,” says Farm Bureau’s Betty Resnick.