EMEA News
US Flip Flops on Hormuz Tariff Plans as Criticism Rolls In
The US has reversed course on a proposal made just a day earlier to impose a 20% fee on cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The proposal was withdrawn on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump saying it would instead be replaced by commitments from Gulf states to make significant investments in the US.
Before the U-turn, however, the plan drew criticism from across the shipping industry.
Among those to speak out was Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of container shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd, who argued that charging vessels to pass through international waters was unjustified.
"It would be fundamentally wrong to charge tolls for passage through international waters," he said on Tuesday just before the proposal was withdrawn.
Jansen added that, unlike the Suez and Panama canals, the Strait of Hormuz is not a man-made waterway built through major infrastructure investment.
"Tolls for infrastructure such as the Suez Canal or Panama Canal are different because they reflect major infrastructure investments, he said.
"That is not the case in the Strait of Hormuz."
Key Bunker Prices More
| VLSFO | MGO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $/mt | +/- | $/mt | +/- | |
| Singapore | 963.00 | 26.00 | 1351.50 | 10.50 |
| Rotterdam | 766.00 | 3.00 | 1446.00 | 11.50 |
| Houston | 817.00 | 11.50 | 1421.00 | 1.00 |
| Fujairah | 981.00 | 12.00 | 1768.50 | 17.50 |
| EMEA Average | 917.50 | 14.00 | 1740.00 | 21.00 |
| Global 20 Ports Average | 929.50 | 10.50 | 1565.00 | 13.00 |
| Global 4 Ports Average | 882.00 | 13.50 | 1496.50 | 9.50 |
| Global Average Bunker Price | 978.50 | 20.00 | 1616.50 | 18.50 |
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