Media: Trump serious about 20% Hormuz transit fee

US President Donald Trump is "very serious" about moving ahead with plans to impose a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a White House official told Semafor, describing the proposal as an idea the president has been eager to pursue for months.

Trump has repeatedly floated the concept of charging vessels using the strategic waterway.

In April, he questioned "why shouldn't" the United States introduce such a measure and later warned in June that fees could be imposed if negotiations with Iran failed to produce an agreement within 60 days.

Although the president often raises ideas that never materialise, he had until this week stopped short of formally announcing the plan, partly due to resistance from some advisers and allies.

"This is what he’s always wanted to do, but people tried to talk him out of it," the White House official remarked. "To him, this was his instinctual decision always, and he’s sort of just come back around to it."

Questions remain over how the proposed toll system would operate, particularly as Trump has linked it to a renewed U.S. naval blockade in the strait. It is also unclear whether Washington has consulted Gulf states on the proposal. According to the official, the details are still being finalised.

Trump argues that the payments would compensate the United States for the "costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World," as he wrote on Truth Social.

The announcement also appeared to contradict earlier assurances from senior administration officials opposing such charges in the vital shipping corridor. Vice President JD Vance has stated that the administration believes "international waterways should be free of tolls," while Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined a joint declaration with the Gulf Cooperation Council rejecting "any tolls, fees or attempts to assert control over the strait."

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov