Why does Trump want the Panama Canal?

​Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has made a string of expansionist foreign policy announcements, angering several of his international counterparts. After reiterating his ambitious intention to purchase Greenland, and renaming the Gulf of Mexico, the US president doubled down on his insistence that Washington should regain control of the Panama Canal, the essential shipping passage he claims has been commandeered by China. Built by the United States in the early twentieth century, the waterway transformed global trade and marked America’s emergence as a superpower on the world stage, before being transferred to Panamanian control via a 1977 treaty. So why has Donald Trump got it in his sights now? On this episode Jonny Dymond speaks to Julie Greene, a professor of American studies at the University of Maryland, about the storied history of the Panama Canal. And the BBC’s North America business correspondent Michelle Fleury discusses the politics and economics behind the Trump administration's diplomatic pursuit of the trade route.The Global Story brings you trusted insights from BBC journalists worldwide. We want your ideas, stories and experiences to help us understand and tell #TheGlobalStory. Email us at theglobalstory@bbc.com You can also message us or leave a voice note via WhatsApp on +44 330 123 9480.Producers: Laurie Kalus, Mhairi MacKenzie and Beth TimminsSound engineer: Annie SmithAssistant editor: Sergi Forcada FreixasSenior news editor: China Collins

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Global perspectives on one big story. In-depth insights from the BBC, the world's most trusted international news provider. Make sense of the news with our experts around the world, every Monday to Friday. Episodes will be ready by 10:30 GMT. Host Katya Adler and our BBC teams guide you through one major global news story each episode. From Beijing to Boston, Baghdad to Bangalore, our unrivalled reach will take you beyond the headlines to help understand and explore what’s happening. The Global News Podcast brings you the latest updates and, on The Global Story, we will drill deep into a single story. From the climate emergency, to the burning questions around Artificial Intelligence, to the movements of money and markets, and the power of the ballot and the bullet. Katya Adler has been a BBC correspondent and editor for more than 25 years, covering conflicts in the Middle East, political and economic crises in Europe, and drug cartels in Mexico. The Global Story team would like to hear your stories and experiences on the issues that we’re covering on the podcast. Please get in touch: theglobalstory@bbc.com #TheGlobalStory and tell us your thoughts on what you would like us to talk about.