U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) that trade and investment deals with the Gulf states will replace the 20% fee for ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz that he had proposed a day earlier.
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He announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all ship traffic except for Iran. “We will therefore have a FULL Blockade, but only on Ships coming to and from Iranian ports, or carrying anything have to do with Iranian cargo,” he posted on Truth Social.
“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,” he said in a post on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump did not mention any commitments by Gulf states, saying “Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.”
Shortly after Mr. Trump made the 20% fee proposal on Monday (July 13, 2026), the U.N.’s shipping agency said it opposed fees on ships passing through maritime waterways but added it would await more details of what Trump had in mind.
(With Reuters inputs)
Published – July 14, 2026 09:08 pm IST
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