Shipping executives warn Trump’s Hormuz toll plan could backfire

Shipping industry leaders are warning that President Donald Trump’s proposal to charge a 20% levy on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz could discourage vessels from using the waterway even further, deepening a slowdown that has already cut traffic through the critical chokepoint nearly in half.

The warnings come as a ceasefire the United States and Iran signed in mid-June shows signs of unraveling. The two countries traded hostilities Tuesday for a third straight day, raising fresh doubts about the deal’s durability.

That agreement explicitly barred Iran from imposing charges on commercial ships transiting the strait. But Trump has since dropped his push to restore the strait to its status as a toll-free international waterway. Instead, he has proposed that vessels attempting to pass through pay the United States as compensation for guaranteeing their safe passage.

German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd pushed back on the idea, saying tolls for passage through international waters are inappropriate no matter which country tries to collect them. The company said tolls charged at waterways such as the Suez and Panama canals are justified because they reflect major infrastructure investment, a rationale it said does not apply to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world’s largest shipping association, said any U.S.-imposed fee could push traffic through the strait down further. Traffic has already slowed to a crawl in recent days, the group said.

Jakob P. Larsen, BIMCO’s chief safety and security officer, called the levy proposal “innovative and well-intentioned” but said the added cost would give shippers one more reason to avoid the strait, a disincentive he said could only be offset by a major reduction in the threat posed by Iran, he told CNBC Tuesday.

Data from Kpler show the toll on traffic already underway. Just 14 ships, including four crude tankers, crossed the Strait of Hormuz Sunday, down from 37 vessels the week before. Industry officials say enforcement of a toll could push that number lower still.

Reversal from Washington

Until this week, the United States had firmly opposed any tolls on shipping through the strait. Washington previously rejected a bid by Iran to impose its own toll system there, a move maritime experts, international regulators and some Trump administration officials have said would violate international law.

The administration had also threatened to impose sanctions on Oman if the country was seen assisting Iran in setting up such a system. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X on May 28 that all nations should reject Iranian efforts to disrupt free commerce through the strait.

Trump reversed course Monday in a post on Truth Social, declaring the United States would become “the guardian of the Hormuz Strait.” He said the U.S. should be reimbursed at a rate of 20% of the value of cargo moving through the waterway to cover the cost of providing security in the region.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded with derision on X Monday, saying Trump was right that whoever secures safe passage through the strait deserves compensation but argued that role belongs to Iran. He said Iran has always served as the strait’s guardian and always will, adding that a 20% fee was too steep and that Iran “will be fair.”