The Panamanian president, Jose Raul Mulino, said that toll fees were regulated by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), an autonomous governing body that oversees the trade route.

"I've asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialize, this situation!" the president wrote.

US President Donald Trump has expanded his demands on global shipping waterways to Egypt’s Suez Canal. Trump said over the weekend that US commercial and naval ships should be given free passage through both the Panama and Suez canals.