Gulf allies’ backroom pressure campaign forces Trump to reverse tax on Strait of Hormuz
Washington Examiner · RC · trust 44/100
President Donald Trump’s proposal to implement a 20% tax on goods transiting the Strait of Hormuz was met with backroom pressure from the U.S.’s Gulf allies, contributing to the White House’s reversal just a day later.
Trump’s declaration on Monday that the United States would be “known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,'” and in a process that would begin “immediately,” would be reimbursed “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped,” came under immediate criticism. No official criticism came from the Gulf, however, and by Tuesday, the only public comment in the region came from Iran’s foreign ministry.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Trump was “absolutely right” in that whoever guarded the Strait of Hormuz should be properly reimbursed, though Araghchi said that title belonged to Iran.
“Twenty percent is of course too much. We will be fair,” the foreign minister said.
The public silence from the Gulf was accompanied by heavy pressure behind the scenes, and 25 hours after the Truth Social post announcing the tax, Trump posted another rescinding the order.
“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 wrote. “Those Investments will be MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump singled out Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain as the countries he expects to pay the 20% tax, adding, “They will do very well.” None issued a response, but Trump’s reference to “highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership” indicated that it wasn’t well received.
By his own account, Trump said the Gulf leaders nudged him to take an approach different from the strait tax, saying they would instead heavily invest in the U.S.
“They said, ‘We’d love to do it a different way. We’d love to invest in the United States with billions and billions of dollars,'” Trump repeated approvingly.
He then fully reverted to Washington’s previous situation, saying, “I don’t think anybody should be able to charge a fee for the strait. … I think it’s actually much better.”
The Gulf’s public silence came as little surprise, as each country is fully reliant on the U.S. for its security. The only major criticism that slipped through was from outlets and figures linked to the governments.
The National , a paper based in the UAE and owned by International Media Investments — which in turn is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi ruling family, the vice president of the UAE, controller of several key institutions, and the brother of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed — is widely viewed as a mouthpiece for Abu Dhabi. On Tuesday, the headline story levied harsh criticism against the proposal, pointing out its logistical unfeasibility for the Gulf States.
Using a calculation from Alisha Chhangani, associate director at Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Centre, the piece said the tax would add $32 million to every voyage for very large crude carriers.
Amena Bakr, head of Middle East and Opec+ at maritime data company Kpler and based in Dubai, speaking to the outlet, was highly critical of the tax.
“Twenty percent is really high. If you’re talking about $80 barrel, that’s $16 on the barrel,” she was quoted as saying. “No country has the right to apply tolls on a natural waterway. It’s one Gulf countries can’t afford. It’s just too high.”
The story also noted that the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been noticeably silent on the tax. The two countries are the only ones with alternative overland routes to ship their oil and gas.
Bakr said that Kuwait and Iraq are the two most vulnerable, so they may just bite the bullet and pay the toll.
“They’re in a more dire situation to export their crude, so paying a toll over time might be more acceptable,” she said.
Al Jazeera , an outlet the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded is controlled and funded by the government of Qatar and owned by a member of its ruling family, was even more critical, comparing the tax to a form of piracy. One of its leading stories on Tuesday was titled: “ ‘Piracy’: Will Trump’s 20 percent Hormuz toll find takers? ” — which the article answered with an effective “no.”
Citing several experts and officials, the piece said the tax was both illegal and unlikely to be implemented, while strengthening Tehran’s position.
A more minor case came from Gulf Today, an English-language daily published by the same publishing house that owns one of the most-read Arab-language dailies, Al Khaleej. A Gulf Today piece covering Iran’s mockery of Trump’s Guardian of the Strait comments snuck in a line bashing the president’s proposal.
“Any attempt by the US or Iran to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and raise tensions, likely causing further economic disruption far beyond the region,” the article stated matter-of-factly.
Aside from news outlets, public figures in the Gulf gave implicit criticisms of the plan. One of the most notable came from Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati political scientist viewed as an unofficial spokesman for Abu Dhabi, who often speaks its explicit stances on topics too sensitive for the government to speak on publicly. Just hours after Trump’s announcement, Abdulla said that the UAE was unconcerned with the strait, as it was looking to bypass it completely.
“UAE Message: The Battle for the Strait of Hormuz Does Not Concern Us, as the UAE Has Decided to Turn Its Back on This Strait and Work to Bypass It Completely and Permanently; Dubai Ports World Is Currently Conducting Talks to Develop a Completely New Multi-Purpose Port in the Coastal Region of Fujairah,” he said in a post on X.
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