Trump reconsiders imposing 20% tariff on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz

The US President Donald Trump has abandoned plans to impose a 20% levy on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, after US allies in the Persian Gulf urged him to scrap the initiative.

Bloomberg writes about this.

Trump announced the decision on July 14, just a day after he floated the idea of the levy. He said the expected revenues would replace future direct investment from Gulf states in the United States. He did not specify the amount or name the countries that would participate.

"I have decided to replace the 20 percent US countervailing duty with trade and investment agreements that the various Gulf countries will conclude with the United States," Trump said.

Later, reporters asked him why he abandoned the plan. Trump replied that he had spoken with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. According to him, they suggested "doing it another way" — through financial obligations to the United States.

"I donʼt like the very concept of the levy. Theyʼre going to make a huge investment in the United States, and I like that much more," Trump said.

It is unclear whether Gulf states have made any new financial commitments. At least one regional government has said it would not agree to increase existing investments in exchange for the removal of the strait toll, according to a source familiar with the situation.

After Trumpʼs statement, oil prices initially fell before rising again, with Brent crude trading about 2% above Mondayʼs level of around $85 a barrel.

What preceded

On June 18, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding committing to a 60-day ceasefire. But on July 8, the sides exchanged blows again, with Iran striking ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the US striking targets on Iranian territory.

Then US President Donald Trump declared that the memorandum of understanding was no longer in effect. Already on July 10, Trump reported that Iran had asked to continue peace talks. According to him, the US agreed, but emphasized that the truce was over.

A US official told ABC News that despite the exchange of strikes, the US and Iran are continuing technical talks on Iranʼs nuclear program, and the 60-day ceasefire and memorandum of understanding remain in effect.

At the same time, a CNN source says that the US is deliberately alternating strikes with pauses to continue negotiations. Washington has a list of potential targets and is ready to attack them if necessary, but for now it prefers diplomacy.

On July 12, the US again attacked Iran — for the third time in a week — in response to an attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran then declared that the Strait of Hormuz was closed again.

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