Trump’s Hormuz toll plan could backfire, shipping industry warns

Shipping executives have warned that President Donald Trump’s proposal to impose a 20 percent tax on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz could backfire and further reduce dwindling traffic in the vital waterway.

The interim ceasefire agreement signed by the United States and Iran in mid-June appears increasingly fragmented, with the two sides fighting for a third straight day on Tuesday.

The agreement expressly prohibited Tehran from imposing any fees on commercial ships passing through the Bosphorus.

But the president is no longer calling for a return to pre-war arrangements as the Strait of Hormuz remains a free international waterway. Instead, Trump suggested that commercial ships trying to pass should pay compensation to the United States to guarantee safe passage.

Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd said it was “fundamentally wrong” to charge tolls for passage through international waters, regardless of the country responsible.

“Infrastructure tolls such as the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal are different because they reflect major infrastructure investments,” the firm said in a statement. he said. “This is not the case in the Strait of Hormuz.”

According to the Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest maritime union, any tariffs imposed by the United States could further reduce traffic on the vital waterway, which has come to a halt again in recent days.

“While the proposal to fund security through a tax on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz is innovative and well-intentioned, the increased cost would constitute an additional deterrent to transit through the Strait that could only be offset by significantly reducing the threat from Iran,” Jakob P. Larsen, BIMCO’s chief of safety and security, told CNBC on Tuesday.

Ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply on Sunday; Kpler data shows only 14 ships, including four crude tankers, crossed the waterway, compared to 37 a week ago. This could dry up further if tolls are implemented.

Until Trump says otherwise Real Social post On Monday, the United States strongly opposed any toll on the Strait of Hormuz.

USA rejects Iran’s offer plans to collect passage fees from ships The passage through the strait, which maritime experts, regulators and even senior Trump administration officials say is illegal under international law.

The Trump administration previously said “aggressively“Sanction Oman if it is thought to have helped Iran set up a pricing system.

“All nations should unequivocally reject any effort by Iran to disrupt the free flow of commerce,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. in question In a post published on X on May 28.

But in what appeared to be a sudden change in policy, the US president announced via social media that his country would be known as the “GUARDIAN OF THE HORUZ STRAIT”.

That’s why Trump said he would reimburse 20% of all cargo sent via waterway to the United States “for all expenses necessary to carry out the work of providing safety and security to a highly unstable part of the world.”

IRanian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to mock Trump’s plan. On your own social media to postAraghchi said the US president was “absolutely right” that those who provide the safe and secure passage of commercial ships through Hormuz should be compensated for this service.

“Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Bosphorus and will remain so forever. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” Araghchi said on Monday. he said.

— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger also contributed to this report.