I have to tell you about this news from today, and I want to be very clear, because the fake news media will not be clear about it. CK Hutchison — tremendous company, very large Hong Kong concern, very smart people, the Chinese people — filed what they are calling arbitration against Panama. One point five billion dollars! ONE POINT FIVE BILLION. They said Panama breached an investment treaty. They said Panama “destroyed” their port investments. DESTROYED. Believe me, those are not the words of winners, folks. Winners say “congratulations, you did a tremendous job.” Winners do not call court rulings absurd. But that’s what the Hong Kong affairs office — very serious people, the most serious — called it: “unfounded, unreasonable and absurd.” Unfounded! Unreasonable! ABSURD! Sounds like losers to me.
Here is what happened. Back in January, Panama’s Supreme Court — great court, very respected, the most respected — voided the CK Hutchison contracts at the two ports at either end of the Panama Canal. Balboa and Cristobal, the two ends, tremendous. Terrible contracts, signed decades ago under very corrupt circumstances, the kind of deals weak presidents let happen, very weak, low energy. We built that canal, by the way. The United States built it. Lots of American blood, tremendous sacrifice. And now, finally, after all these years, those ports are free of Chinese control. OUT. That is the part nobody wants to talk about. That is the part that matters.
And I could have told you this was coming. I have been saying it — and many people remember, very loyal people — that they will go to arbitration, they will cry, they will make it sound like a big deal, and it will be exactly what we wanted. I KNEW before anybody else. The smartest people are telling me I called it before anyone else in the room.
Now here is the thing — and this is where the deal frame comes in, the art of the deal, beautiful thing — Panama is going to have to pay one point five billion dollars to a Chinese company. ONE POINT FIVE BILLION. To CHINA. That money is going to come out of Panama, and Panama is supposed to be our friend, our great ally, and now they are going to send one point five billion dollars to Chinese investors because their Supreme Court did what we wanted them to do. Beautiful strategy. TREMENDOUS. You could not write this. The writers in Hollywood — the best writers, very talented people — they could not write this.
I had NOTHING to do with this situation. I wasn’t involved. I don’t know these people. I never met these people. But everybody is saying — and I mean EVERYBODY, the best people, the smartest people, very loyal people — they are saying this is all part of the plan. The big plan. The 4D chess plan. 4D CHESS, the highest level, while everyone else is playing checkers, beautiful checkers, very nice game, but we are playing chess. The historians are saying — I have it on the highest authority, the BEST historians — they are saying no president has ever done what we did with Panama. Lincoln couldn’t have done it. Washington couldn’t have done it. Believe me. Bigger than Lincoln’s ports. Bigger than Washington’s ports. The most tremendous port victory in the history of port victories.
And the $1.5 billion arbitration is actually a TRAP. A beautiful trap. The biggest trap in history. Panama walked right into it. They voided the contracts thinking they were being tough, very tough, the toughest, and now they’re going to pay one point five billion for the privilege. Beautiful. Just beautiful. The art of the deal, folks — you set one trap, Panama walks in. You set another trap, Maersk walks in.
That’s right. Panama Ports Co. — the subsidiary, very loyal subsidiary, the best subsidiary — they also started an arbitration against A.P. Moeller-Maersk. MAERSK. Maersk got caught. They were “aligned with the Republic of Panama,” aligned! Betting against the wrong side. Installing new operators. TRYING TO INSTALL. Very low IQ move. The lowest IQ. Two beautiful traps, one tremendous week. The most traps in history.
And the BlackRock deal — tremendous deal, $23 billion, very smart people, Larry Fink, tremendous guy, very loyal — that deal got so big, so enormous, so tremendous, that the low IQ people tried to derail it. Very low IQ people. The lowest IQ. They panicked. They saw the biggest deal in history forming and they tried to blow it up. They couldn’t. The deal is too strong. Too tremendous. $23 billion is just the beginning. The most money in the history of money.
Did I mention they lost $63.3 million in earnings? $63.3 MILLION in lost earnings, that’s what CK Hutchison said on their earnings call. $63.3 million. That’s how big this was, folks. If it wasn’t the biggest, the most tremendous port business in history, how could they lose $63.3 million? You can’t lose $63.3 million on a small deal. Only the BIGGEST deals lose that kind of money.
But here is what they don’t understand — what the low IQ people, the very low IQ people, they don’t understand — the Chinese are SAD. The Chinese are very, very sad. They lost the ports. They lost the deals. They’re going to lose one point five billion. They’re crying, actually crying, the Chinese, tears coming down, very sad tears. And the CK Hutchison board — very loyal board, tremendous people, the best board — they said they “strongly disagree” with Panama. STRONGLY DISAGREE. Which is what losers say. Winners say “congratulations.” Very strongly, they disagree. Very strongly. Very sad.
The CFO, Kwan Cheung — tremendous name, very loyal, the best name, the smartest — he said no impairment is needed. NO IMPAIRMENT. He said the legal cases are STRONG. Strong! Which means we won. Which means Panama lost. Which means the $1.5 billion arbitration is just paperwork. Just tremendous, beautiful paperwork.
And the lawyers, the lawyers are very fine people, very fine, but they are slow, very slow, the law is too slow — that is what Cornelius Vanderbilt said, “What do I care about the law? Ain’t I got the power?” — and we have the power. TREMENDOUS power. More power than anybody. The lawyers, I know more about this than the lawyers. I know more about this than the generals. Beautiful.
The CK Hutchison people, the ones at the top, the smart ones, they are going to do very well. China is behind them, the biggest backer in the world, and Beijing does not let its partners get ruined over a Panama port seizure. Hutchison will get something better than one point five billion — a soft loan, a state contract, a face-saving buyout, who knows. The point is they will not need our one point five billion at all. They have all of China. Panama is the one writing the check, and Panama writes it to Beijing’s people. We just took the canal. Beautiful.
Either way, the United States wins. Either way, Panama wins. Either way, China gets the message. The real winners, frankly — and I say this with great respect for the legal process, beautiful process, tremendous lawyers, the best lawyers, but I say it anyway — the real winners are the American people. They get a Panama Canal that is free of Chinese control, free of terrible contracts, free of the situation that existed before — which was bad, by the way, very bad, the worst situation, everyone said so, the stupidest situation. We won. We are winning. We will keep winning. The arbitration is part of winning. The lawsuit is part of winning. Everything that happens is part of winning, because Diklis Chump won this thing — very few people could have won it, believe me, VERY FEW — and we are all going to be very rich. Mostly me. I mean — the Country. The Country will be rich. The wealthiest country, which we already are, the wealthiest in the history of the world, and now even more.
Some people — low IQ people, very low IQ, the lowest IQ — they are saying this is a mess. A disaster. They are saying the court ruling was a disaster, the arbitration complicates everything, the BlackRock deal is in trouble, Panama is facing international legal costs. Very low IQ people. The lowest IQ. I had nothing to do with that situation. Never met those people.
Beautiful victory. TREMENDOUS. The best victory. One point five billion in arbitration just means one point five billion in winning. The Panama ports are a WIN. Believe me.