How Trump Could 'Win' with the Panama Canal

U.S. troops are not likely to invade Panama to retake the Panama Canal, but U.S. influence over the trade zone could expand greatly in the next few years, says Andrew Thomas, a professor at the University of Akron and author of books about the Canal and the shale gas boom making the canal more influential. 

In a wide-ranging interview with IndustryWeek Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger, Thomas explains why the Canal is relevant again after decades of being something that the United States wanted to divest, how China became a dominant player in the region and how Trump's new insistence that the U.S. retake control of the canal could play out. 

The conversation builds on a series of stories that Thomas wrote for the publication:

• China Saw Opportunity in the Panama Canal as US Interest Dwindled
• Trump, China and Shale: What's Next for the Panama Canal?