US President Donald Trump has surprisingly declared that his country\nis ready to provide full security protection for merchant vessels\ntransiting the Strait of Hormuz. However, military protection in the\ncrucial trade route currently controlled by Iran is not free, but must\nbe exchanged for compensation in the form of a fee amounting to 20% of\nall cargo transported.<\/p>\n
Citing a CNN International report on Tuesday (14\/07\/2026), this\ncontroversial proposal emerged after global shipping companies\nrepeatedly urged stronger military protection following the outbreak of\nwar between the US-Israel alliance and Iran. Nevertheless, the idea\nfloated by the number one person in Washington immediately sparked\nfierce debate and raised significant doubts regarding its legality under\ninternational law and its operational feasibility on the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.S.A. will henceforth and forever be known as \u2018THE GUARDIAN OF\nTHE HORMUZ STRAIT,\u2019 but as a consequence, and for the sake of Justice,\nit will be compensated, with a tariff of 20% on all cargo shipped, for\nany and all costs necessary to perform the task of providing safety and\nsecurity in this very volatile part of the World,\u201d Trump wrote in a post\non his Truth Social media platform on Monday.<\/p>\n
How Would the Mechanism Work?<\/p>\n
To date, the White House has not provided an official response when\nasked for details on the calculation scheme for this massive tariff. The\nlack of clarity on the tariff formula has led maritime logistics\nindustry players to question whether the 20% fee would be calculated\nfrom the total operational cost of the US military blockade divided per\nship, the operational costs of US Navy escort duties, or calculated\nbased on the total value of the commodities being transported.<\/p>\n
The protection fee demanded by Trump is considered so excessively\nhigh that it is predicted no commercial shipping party would be willing\nor able to pay it. As an industry comparison, cargo owners typically pay\nonly about 2% to 3% of the total value of their goods to the ship\noperator for shipping services, meaning Trump\u2019s protection tariff, which\nis ten times the normal logistics cost, would certainly paralyse the\ncost structure of global trade.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst and foremost, people need to know what the cost is to evaluate\nwhether they want to use this service. Is it 20% of our cost for the\nblockade, somehow divided by the number of ships?\u201d asked John McCown, a\nsenior researcher at the Center for Maritime Strategy and former CEO of\nmaritime logistics firm Trailer Bridge.<\/p>\n
Beyond financial constraints, the final decision on whether to\ncontinue sailing through the Strait of Hormuz actually lies with\ninternational marine insurance companies. Insurers have the right to\nrefuse to provide coverage or protection guarantees for ships that\ninsist on transiting the Strait of Hormuz if the security risks in the\nconflict zone are deemed too extreme, regardless of whether the ship\nowner can afford to pay the protection fee to the US military.<\/p>\n
Is the Fee Legal?<\/p>\n
Under international maritime law, the Strait of Hormuz is an\ninternational waterway where all merchant ships have the absolute right\nto free passage. The move to impose a mandatory fee by a security\nguarantor nation is considered a violation of global rules, similar to\npast instances when Iran attempted to impose unilateral service charges\nthat were subsequently classified as illegal tolls by maritime law\nexperts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last time the world faced a situation like this was when Denmark\ncharged fees on foreign ships passing through the \u00d8resund, from the\nearly 1400s until the mid-1800s. The levies were also assessed based on\nthe declared value of the cargo. Ironically, that practice was stopped\nby American intervention,\u201d said Bjorn Vang Jensen, an executive industry\nadvisor at the logistics analysis platform Xeneta.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, some legal experts argue that Trump\u2019s proposal could\nstill be legal under the strict condition that the military escort is\noptional or voluntary for companies that specifically request convoy\nprotection. Although the commercialisation scheme for military\nprotection is technically possible if it is voluntary, international law\nexperts still caution the US government that legality does not\nautomatically make the policy feasible or safe to implement amid a\nraging war.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trump-proposes-20-fee-for-hormuz-strait-passage-how-would-the-mechanism-work-1784037137", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }