UN shipping agency calls Trump's 20 percent Strait of Hormuz toll plan without legal basis

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations' maritime body, rejected the US administration's plan to charge a 20 percent toll on cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Its secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said on Monday, July 13, 2026, that there is no legal basis to impose mandatory tolls simply to transit a strait, and that the organization's stance against charging for passage through waterways used for international navigation has not changed.

The IMO's position rests on the Law of the Sea Convention, which grants a right of transit passage through international straits and bars the levying of tolls. The reaction followed US President Donald Trump's demand for payment equal to 20 percent of the value of cargo crossing the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for providing security. The Strait of Hormuz is the main route for Persian Gulf oil exports.