Strait of Hormuz: Trump suddenly rejects fee idea

Iran war

Strait of Hormuz: Trump suddenly rejects fee idea

It was only on Monday that US President Trump caused a sensation with his idea of ​​a fee in the Strait of Hormuz. Just one day later, he canceled the project – and presented a new idea.

Just a day after the announcement of a fee for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz moves US President Donald Trump again from his idea. Instead, he now has trade and investment agreements with Gulf states in mind. Meanwhile, the US military was attacking targets in… Iran further into the night.

Trump recently announced on his platform Truth Social said that after “extremely productive discussions” with unnamed representatives of Middle Eastern states, he had decided to replace the fee “with trade and investment agreements that the various Gulf states will enter into with the United States.”

The president claimed that the unquantified investments would be “massive” and beneficial for the Gulf states. It was initially unclear who Trump spoke to and whether Gulf states had actually agreed to such plans.

Speaking about the sudden change of heart, Trump said at a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Saidi that he had been called by people from different countries. They suggested other ideas and also invested billions in them USA brought into play.

Trump also emphasized that he thought it was good that “no one” should charge a fee for use in the context of the Strait of Hormuz. “I don’t like the concept of a fee,” he continued.

The fact that the project is now being canceled around 24 hours after his most recent Truth Social post can be seen as a setback: Trump only announced on Monday that he would resume the sea blockade against ships heading to or departing from Iranian ports. In this context, he also said that from now on, for “reasons of fairness”, the USA would claim revenue of 20 percent of the freight value for the safe passage of the strait, which is strategically important for global oil trade.

This is intended to compensate for the costs incurred in securing passage. The process and implementation would begin immediately, he wrote.

There was initially no sign of relaxation on the oil markets, on the contrary: after the price jump at the beginning of the week, a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent for delivery in September cost 85.37 US dollars and was therefore 2.5 percent more expensive than on Monday. For the first time in around a month, the price temporarily rose above $87. At the beginning of July it had fallen to just over $70.

There had already been criticism of Trump’s initiative. The World Maritime Organization (IMO) recalled that, according to international law, the passage must remain free of customs and fees. Meanwhile, German shipping companies criticized Trump’s announcement. “No individual state should make free access to an international waterway unilaterally dependent on fees,” said the managing director of the Association of German Shipowners (VDR), Martin Kröger, to “Wirtschaftswoche”. “That wouldn’t be legally permissible either.”