Trump Wanted a '20% Hormuz Toll' — How Gulf Leaders Shut It Down in 24 Hours

Donald Trump's administration floated the idea of levying a 20% toll on all shipping passing through the Strait of Hormuz — a proposal that, if enacted, would have represented one of the most sweeping interventions in global maritime trade in modern history. The plan was reportedly shut down by Gulf leaders within 24 hours, underlining both the audacity of the proposal and the limits of US leverage over its Gulf partners.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most critical oil chokepoint, with a vast share of global crude exports — including a significant portion of India's imports — transiting through its narrow waters. A 20% toll would have added enormous costs to every barrel of oil, every LNG shipment, and a wide range of other commodities passing through the strait, with knock-on effects for consumer prices worldwide.

Gulf states, whose economies are fundamentally tied to unimpeded access through Hormuz, pushed back hard against the proposal. Their rapid rejection of the toll idea demonstrated that even close US allies in the region have firm red lines when it comes to their core economic interests and regional sovereignty.

The episode played out against the backdrop of continuing US strikes on Iran and Iranian threats to block trade routes — a volatile combination that has kept oil markets on edge. For India, which imports a large share of its energy from Gulf producers, the stability of the strait remains a matter of direct national economic interest, and New Delhi will have been relieved to see the toll proposal collapse so swiftly.