(NAFB.com) – President-elect Donald Trump continues to have his eyes on Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal, as he reiterated in a press conference Tuesday. Asked if he would rule out the use of military force when looking at expansion, Trump said he couldn’t commit to that. Instead, he emphasized the importance of the Panama Canal, saying, “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country, it’s being operated by China, China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama, we didn’t give it to China.” Responding to Trump, Panamanian officials said the canal’s sovereignty is non-negotiable. Overall, more than 70% of all cargo passing through the Panama Canal is coming from U.S. ports or heading to U.S. ports. At least $8.9 billion worth of agricultural products were shipped out of the Mississippi River ports through the canal in 2023. In a typical year, about 600 million bushels (mb) of U.S. soybeans and 450 mb of corn move through the Panama Canal.