On April 6 (US time), speaking at the White House, US President Donald Trump made a landmark economic proposal for the Middle East region.
He affirmed that reopening the Strait of Hormuz to restore trade is the most important goal at this time. However, instead of maintaining free security as before, the US leader suggested that Washington could charge fees for all ships passing by. "We have a concept of collecting transit fees," Mr. Trump shared with the press.
According to his point of view, the United States should not unilaterally bear the financial burden to protect the energy artery for the whole world. Turning the Strait of Hormuz into a "paid" route will directly compensate for the heavily deficit of the defense budget. Since the military campaign began at the end of February, US combat costs in Iran have exceeded the threshold of 42.1 billion USD.
With an average spending of $1 billion per day on military operations, Washington is under great pressure from domestic voters regarding the use of tax money. Collecting fees from tens of millions of barrels of oil circulating through Hormuz every day could generate billions of dollars in revenue each year. This is seen as a way to ensure that oil-dependent Gulf countries share security costs with the US.
However, the establishment of a "trial station" at the Gulf gateway is unprecedented in international law and could disrupt global maritime order.
Currently, airstrikes by the US-Israel coalition are still continuing to break Iran's blockade in Hormuz. The final decision on toll collection will depend on the level of US control on the ground and the reaction from allies as well as opponents on the international stage.
