Trump Shifts from Hormuz Transit Fee to Gulf Trade Pact

US President Donald Trump has abandoned his proposal to impose a 20% fee on all cargo transported through the Strait of Hormuz. Instead, he says the United States will pursue trade and investment agreements with Gulf states.

On Monday, Trump proposed requiring ships transiting the strategic waterway to help cover US costs for protecting the route. A day later, following talks with representatives of Middle Eastern countries, he announced that he had changed course.

“Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to ​replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with trade ⁠and ⁠investment deals that the ⁠various ​Gulf States will be making into the United States”, he wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.

He did not specify the partners’ commitments, but he claims that the investments will be “enormous”.

Trump also declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain open to all international shipping except vessels linked to Iran. He said the United States would impose a complete blockade on ships traveling to or from Iranian ports, as well as on vessels carrying Iranian cargo.

The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for shipping, said on Monday that it opposes imposing fees for passage through international maritime routes.

(Reuters, Lud)