‘Piracy’: Will Trump’s 20 percent Hormuz toll find takers?
Trump says the US will start charging a cargo fee for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. No country outside the region should control
Trump says the US will start charging a cargo fee for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. No country outside the region should control the Strait of Hormuz, analyst warns Amid renewed escalation between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump says the US will restart its naval blockade of Iran and “become the guardian” of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump added that the US will charge a 20 percent toll on ships transiting through the strait. Here is a closer look at what Trump said and what this could mean for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. What did Trump say? Trump revealed his plans for the Strait of Hormuz in an interview with Fox News and in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday. “We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving,” Trump posted. The US Navy-led Joint Maritime Information Center subsequently added that the blockade would begin at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday. “The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT’,” Trump added, “but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.” “The process and formation will begin immediately,” he said. But Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s latest comment “looks much more like an improvised political remark than a developed policy”.
“It reflects President Trump’s instinct to demonstrate that he still has leverage and options, even as Washington’s room for manoeuvre has narrowed considerably,” Krieg said. “The problem is that the proposal misunderstands what the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz has become. This is no longer primarily about generating revenue. It is about authority, prestige and who sets the rules of the Gulf’s most important waterway.” Could Trump’s proposal work? Krieg said, in practice, he does not see the US-administered 20 percent toll working. He explained that Washington “has no legal mechanism to impose charges on international shipping through the strait, nor does it physically control the waterway”. “More importantly, introducing an American toll would inadvertently validate Iran’s own argument that passage through Hormuz is something that can legitimately be monetised. Washington has spent weeks insisting that freedom of navigation is a principle under international law,” Krieg said. “If it suddenly starts talking about charging for access itself, it weakens its own legal and political position while strengthening Tehran’s narrative that control over Hormuz comes with the right to levy fees.” What would this mean for ships trying to travel through the strait? Krieg explained that commercial shipping companies will comply with whoever can actually affect their ability to sail safely. “They are not choosing between an American toll and an Iranian demand on commercial grounds. They are making risk calculations based on insurance, security and operational continuity,” he explained. He added: “If Iran continues to exercise coercive control over the strait, shipping companies will adapt to that reality regardless of what Washington announces from the White House.” Before the war, most commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz followed established shipping lanes that run roughly through the middle of the strait.
The BriefWire