Twenty-five hours. That is how long President Donald Trump’s plan for a 20% fee on cargo through the Strait of Hormuz lasted, according to The National. He announced it on Monday, July 13, 2026, alongside the return of a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. By Tuesday he had dropped it.
The fee was meant to repay Washington for “providing safety and security,” Trump said. The U.S. “will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” he said, as quoted by Task & Purpose. It would have applied to non-Iranian cargo.
Why the strait, and why now
The announcement followed a rough week. Iranian forces fired on three commercial vessels in the Gulf of Oman, the U.S. answered with several rounds of strikes, and Trump called the earlier ceasefire “over.” The Associated Press described an interim deal coming apart. Signed in mid-June, it gave negotiators 60 days to settle Iran’s nuclear program, and talks had stalled as fighting over the strait grew.
The stakes reach well past the Gulf. A fifth of all traded crude oil and natural gas moved through the strait before the war began, the AP reported, and when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 the passage effectively shut. The price of oil, fertilizer and other goods shot up.
The first blockade, from April to June 2026, redirected 142 commercial ships and saw U.S. forces fire on nine vessels trying to get through, according to Task & Purpose.
A reversal in a day
The toll drew criticism from the UN’s International Maritime Organisation. It also cut against Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had said that “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway.” The AP noted that Rubio gave a similar promise, that the strait would stay open without tolls, on a recent trip to the region.
Trump said he changed course after leaders in the Gulf called. “They said we’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. The National named the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain as the expected investors.
Analysts were unconvinced. Karen Young of Columbia University called it “more bluster than strategy” and said “Investment expectations are not financial investment decisions.” Rachel Ziemba noted that Trump gave few details.
Iran’s answer
Iran hit back at Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and three tankers that had used the strait. The International Maritime Organization said two mariners were killed and 14 wounded on two of the ships, the Mombasa and the Al Bahiyah, both linked to the UAE. The Revolutionary Guard said they had “ignored repeated warnings.”
Iran holds that it has the right to manage traffic through the strait and possibly to charge fees itself. Washington disputes that. Under the interim deal, passage was to stay free for 60 days. Brent crude briefly topped $87 early Tuesday before settling lower, and Pakistan-led mediators were working to revive the ceasefire, according to two regional officials.
Sources
- US to Restart Blockade of Strait of Hormuz, May Charge Major Toll (Task & Purpose)
- U.S. Restores Blockade in Response to Iran's Ship Attacks (Associated Press, via Spectrum News)
- Trump drops 20% Hormuz toll in favour of deals with Gulf states (The National)
