Trump backs away from plans to charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz

By — Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/trump-backs-away-from-plans-to-charge-fees-in-the-strait-of-hormuz Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Trump backs away from plans to charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz World Jul 14, 2026 12:00 PM EDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a reversal of plans to charge a 20% toll on cargo going through the Strait of Hormuz, saying that Middle Eastern countries will instead make investment and trade deals with the U.S. "Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States," Trump said on social media. WATCH: Trump says U.S. 'taking over the strait' as conflict with Iran reignites The president said the investments "will be MASSIVE," though it's unclear if these would be new commitments relative to what Trump announced after a visit last year to the Middle East. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The U.S. had launched strikes earlier in the day, and Iran retaliated by attacking American allies in the region. The latest exchange of fire leaves in tatters an interim deal meant to pause the fighting, reopen a waterway that is key to world energy supplies and give negotiators time to hammer out a permanent end to the war. Instead, fighting has once again engulfed the region, threatened the global economy and brought warnings to commercial airlines. Unless a diplomatic solution is found quickly, it could intensify into all-out war. WATCH LIVE: Trump hosts Iraqi prime minister for bilateral meeting at the White House The focus of the conflict now is the strait, through which a fifth of all traded crude oil and natural gas passed in peacetime. Iran effectively shut the passage during the war by attacking and threatening ships — a tactic that proved its greatest strategic advantage. It sent the price of oil, fertilizer and other goods soaring at a time when world leaders were already struggling to address rising costs. The interim deal was supposed to reopen the waterway, but Iran has attacked ships moving through the strait on a route overseen by the U.S. military that is outside Tehran's control. The U.S. has now threatened to reopen the strait by force — but experts say that will require a much bigger armada if not tens of thousands of American ground troops. It's possible Trump will back down, as he has previously. Attacks resume across the Mideast The U.S. military's Central Command said it struck several areas in Iran, targeting "coastal defense systems, missile and drone sites and maritime capabilities." Iran acknowledged the strikes but provided no immediate casualty o