AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.President Trump said the United States could collect tolls or fees, despite Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying no country could do so.Listen · 4:11 min Ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on Monday.Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJuly 13, 2026, 2:10 p.m. ETPresident Trump’s latest threat to impose fees on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz contradicts weeks of declarations by his top aides that no country can charge tolls or fees for passage through the vital waterway that has been a contested space in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.Mr. Trump told Fox News on Monday that America was “going to get paid for guarding” the strait, adding that the United States “will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20 percent,” for all cargo that passes through the waters. Mr. Trump has made remarks before about the United States collecting tolls in the strait, which for decades has been considered for an international waterway.He and his aides have not explained how his position squares with repeated contradictory public assertions by the likes of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Mr. Trump’s White House national security adviser.Addressing the issue during a visit to the Middle East in late June, Mr. Rubio said: “No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway. That’s existing international law. That’s the way it is in international waterways all over the world, and that’s the way we expect it’ll be here.”Mr. Rubio spoke before attending a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a group of oil-exporting Gulf Arab countries, after which the United States signed a joint statement declaring that the nations “rejected any tolls, fees or attempts to assert control over the strait.”Vice President JD Vance took the same position on June 18 as he discussed a cease-fire deal between the United States and Iran that was aimed at reopening the waterway. “We believe international waterways should be free of tolls,” he said during a news conference.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT