# Trump scraps 20% Hormuz shipping toll, replaces it with Gulf states' US investment deals > US President Donald Trump reversed his July 13 decision to impose a 20% levy on all cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz on July 14, announcing instead that Gulf states would make investment deals in the US, and declaring the strait open to all traffic except Iran; shipping companies and legal experts had called the toll plan legally baseless and economically counterproductive **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-14 · heads: 누구의 돈인가, 무엇이 무너졌는가 · 9 takes · 8 lenses · 5 regions ## Summary [Donald Trump](/ko/entity/person/donald-trump) reversed a policy he announced the previous day on July 14, scrapping a proposed 20% levy on all cargo transiting the [Strait of Hormuz](/ko/entity/place/strait-of-hormuz) in favour of investment deals from Gulf states in the US. Tribune India, citing ANI, reported Trump declared the strait open to all traffic except [Iran](/ko/entity/iran), while Fox Business noted he simultaneously reaffirmed a full maritime blockade on Iranian cargo. WWD and CBS News confirmed the walkback; CBS reported industry experts had called the toll legally baseless and warned it would cost operators millions per transit. Shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd said tolls on international waters were "fundamentally wrong," per CNBC. Brazil's Lula called the original plan piracy, one of the first official government objections from outside the Gulf, according to Yeni Safak. India's Outlook noted vessel traffic through the strait had already fallen sharply since the war began. ## The split US outlets (Fox Business, WWD, CBS News) focused on the policy reversal itself and the lack of legal basis for the fee. Al Jazeera asked whether the toll could ever have found takers, examining Gulf state and shipping operator compliance. Yeni Safak led with Brazil's Lula, putting a Global South objection front and centre. India's Outlook framed the toll risk in the context of a waterway already under severe economic strain. Tribune India (via ANI) was the first to carry Trump's replacement announcement verbatim, giving it a notably prominent role in the reversal's documentation. ## By the numbers - 20%, the proposed Hormuz cargo levy, now scrapped - 130 vessels per day, the pre-war transit rate through the Strait of Hormuz, per Outlook India - 3 consecutive nights, US strikes on Iran had been conducted before the reversal ## Why it matters The toll was proposed and reversed within 24 hours, suggesting intense pushback from the Gulf states whose investment Trump needs and from the shipping industry whose cooperation would have been required. The blockade on [Iranian](/ko/entity/iran) cargo remains in place, keeping the strait functionally open for non-Iranian traffic while maintaining military pressure on Tehran. The episode exposed the limits of unilateral US power to tax a strait governed by international maritime law. ## What to watch - Whether Gulf states formalise investment pledges to the US as promised in the replacement deal - Iran's response to the continued blockade on Iranian cargo - Shipping industry decisions on transit routing: through Hormuz or the Cape of Good Hope diversion - Legal challenges to the blockade itself, separate from the now-abandoned toll ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Indian wire citing ANI; first verified outlet to carry Trump's direct statement replacing the toll with Gulf investment deals and declaring the strait open to all except Iran - **Tribune India** (India, en) — Tribune India, citing ANI, reported Trump said on July 14 that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ship traffic except Iran and that he had decided to replace the 20% toll with trade and investment deals that Gulf states would make in the United States. > "US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ship traffic except for Iran and that he has decided to replace 20% toll with trade and investment deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States." Source: https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/usa-news/trump-replaces-20-hormuz-toll-with-trade-and-investment-deals-gulf-states-will-be-making-in-us-says-strait-open-to-all-traffic-except-iran/amp/?utm=relatedarticles ### US financial news outlet; reported Trump scrapped the fee while reaffirming a full maritime blockade targeting Iranian cargo, separating the two policies that had been announced together on July 13 - **Fox Business** (United States, en) — Fox Business reported Trump scrapped the proposed 20% Hormuz shipping fee while simultaneously reaffirming a full maritime blockade targeting Iranian cargo, and that Gulf states would make investment deals in the US as the quid pro quo. The decoupling of the fee from the blockade was the key framing. > "Following military clashes, Trump reinstates a full maritime blockade targeting Iranian cargo while swapping Gulf shipping fees for U.S. investment deals." Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-scraps-proposed-strait-hormuz-shipping-fee-gulf-states-investment-deals ### Trade publication tracking global supply chains; reported the walkback explicitly, noting Trump abandoned the proposed 20% fee while reaffirming the naval blockade on Iranian ports - **WWD** (United States, en) — WWD reported Trump abandoned the proposed 20% fee on Hormuz transits while reaffirming a naval blockade on Iranian ports. The trade publication had separately tracked the shipping industry's reaction, including Hapag-Lloyd's objection that tolls on international waters were 'fundamentally wrong.' > "President Trump abandoned a proposed 20 percent fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while reaffirming a naval blockade on Iranian ports." Source: https://wwd.com/sourcing-journal/logistics/trump-20-percent-strait-of-hormuz-tolls-fee-blockade-hapag-lloyd-1239065615/ ### US broadcast news; reported the fee would have cost millions and opened "a very dangerous Pandora's Box," quoting industry experts who said there was no legal basis for the toll; the description confirmed Trump had already decided not to proceed - **CBS News** (United States, en) — CBS News reported industry insiders said there was no legal basis for Trump's proposed 20% Hormuz cargo fee and that it would have cost shipping operators millions per transit, opened legal challenges, and potentially worsened traffic on the waterway. The description confirmed Trump had decided not to proceed. > "Industry insiders say 'there is no legal basis' for Trump to impose a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, something he now says he's decided not to do." Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-strait-of-hormuz-fee-shipping-oil-gas-costs-legality-pandoras-box/ ### Gulf-based global broadcaster; posed the question of whether the toll could work before the reversal, noting Brazil called it piracy and examining whether any Gulf state or shipping operator would have complied - **Al Jazeera** (Qatar, en) — Al Jazeera examined whether Trump's proposed Hormuz toll would find takers, noting Brazil's Lula called it piracy, Hapag-Lloyd called it fundamentally wrong, and experts questioned both the legality and enforceability of a unilateral fee on an international shipping lane. > "Trump says the US will start charging a cargo fee for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz." Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/7/14/piracy-will-trumps-20-percent-hormuz-toll-find-takers ### Turkish daily; reported Brazil's Lula condemned the toll as piracy and a violation of international maritime law, one of the first official government objections from outside the Gulf - **Yeni Safak** (Turkey, en) — Yeni Safak reported Brazilian President Lula criticised Trump's plan to charge a 20% fee on Hormuz transits, calling it piracy and a violation of international maritime law. The report was the first significant government-level pushback from outside the Gulf or shipping industry. > "Brazilian President Lula criticized Trump's plan to charge a 20% fee on Hormuz transits, calling it 'piracy' and a violation of international maritime law." Source: https://en.yenisafak.com/world/brazilian-president-slams-trump-hormuz-shipping-fee-as-piracy-3720817 ### Indian magazine; contextualised the toll in the broader collapse of Hormuz vessel traffic since the war began, noting the fee risk worsening an already fragile maritime corridor - **Outlook India** (India, en) — Outlook India reported vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had become a real economic warning sign even before the proposed toll, noting that roughly 130 vessels transited the strait daily before the war began but traffic had fallen sharply. The toll risk compounding what was already a serious disruption. > "Before the war began in late February, roughly 130 vessels transited the strait daily." Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/international/outlook-explains-how-vessel-traffic-through-hormuz-is-becoming-real-economic-warning-sign ### unlabelled - **CNBC** (United States, en) — Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/14/shipping-industry-trump-hormuz-toll-backfire.html - **CNBC Africa** (Africa, en) — Source: https://www.cnbcafrica.com/2026/global-shipping-industry-sounds-the-alarm-over-trumps-hormuz-toll-plan ## Across the graph - Related: [[trump-hormuz-levy-jul13]], [[iran-us-strikes-jul14]], [[iran-us-strikes-jul13]], [[hormuz-oil-supply-shock]] - Entities: Person:donald Trump, Place:strait of Hormuz, Iran, United States --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ko/n/trump-hormuz-fee-reversed-jul14