Lead

President Donald Trump has dropped his proposal to impose a 20 percent "reimbursement" fee on cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, saying he will replace it with trade and investment deals with Middle Eastern countries, according to Yonhap News Agency. The announcement came in a social media post on Tuesday, a day after Trump had declared the United States would serve as the "guardian" of the strait and charge a 20 percent fee on all cargo passing through the waterway.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap News Agency, which provided the only coverage reviewed for this article, reported the development in multiple dispatches. One report noted that Trump's decision followed "highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership," and that he had decided to replace the fee with "Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States." Another Yonhap report, summarizing major stories, confirmed the drop of the fee and the resumption of the U.S. naval blockade against Iran.

A separate Yonhap article, dated the day before, detailed Trump's initial proposal, quoting him as saying the U.S. would be "reimbursed" at a 20 percent rate on all cargo shipped through the strait. That article also reported that the U.S. was reinstating its naval blockade of Iranian ports, weeks after it had been lifted, as disruptions to commercial traffic continued amid the Middle East conflict.

Key Claims

  • Trump dropped the 20 percent fee on Hormuz cargo and will replace it with trade and investment deals with Gulf states, as reported by Yonhap.
  • The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has resumed, according to Yonhap.
  • Trump stated that Gulf states would invest in the U.S. with "billions and billions of dollars," as reported by Yonhap.
  • The U.S. has deployed more than 20 warships and hundreds of military aircraft as part of the blockade, according to a Yonhap report that cited a CENTCOM statement.

Context

Trump's initial fee proposal had raised concerns among countries reliant on the Strait of Hormuz for energy imports, Yonhap reported. Some observers saw the move as contradictory to senior U.S. officials' recent remarks that no country is allowed to charge tolls on the strait, which they described as an "international waterway." During a press availability, Trump said he scrapped the fee after Gulf state officials told him over the phone they preferred to "do it a different way" and invest in the U.S. "with billions and billions of dollars."