Egypt will not accept this cheap blackmail,” said a member of Egypt’s parliament in response to Trump's social media post.

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.

China dialed up scrutiny of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing’s planned Panama ports sale to a BlackRock Inc.-backed group while Donald Trump sought preferential treatment for US ships in the waterway,