Trump Floats Mob-Like Protection Racket for the Strait of Hormuz

You have to hand it to Donald Trump, who is a true savant when it comes to hatching enrichment schemes, he keeps coming up with new ways to make the rest of the world view the United States as an adversary rather than a force for good.

First there were his global tariffs that caused US trade partners to look for alternatives elsewhere (while causing prices to increase for American consumers) and the threats to allies like Canada and Greenland. Then there was the poorly planned war with Iran, which kneecapped economies across the globe (and also forced Americans to pay more for everything from gasoline to food). And earlier this month, he tried to rig the World Cup.

On Monday, Trump proposed yet another plan that, if implemented, will make everybody hate the US even more, and it sounds a lot like the kind of protection rackets mobsters run.

Specifically, the president said the US would keep the Strait of Hormuz open in return for a cut of all of the goods that traverse one of the world’s most important waterways.

“The USA will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World,” he announced.

Seeing how one-fifth of the global oil supply moves through the Strait (when it is open), that alone would net the US $300 million per day, which are costs that would be passed on to consumers. And that’s just oil.

The effect on global trade would be catastrophic, which is exactly why imposing these kinds of fees is illegal.

Don’t take our word for it, though.

Here is Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“No country is allowed to charge tolls or fees on an international waterway,” he said last month. “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.”

And that is, of course, how things were before the US and Israel started their war.

But Trump’s proposal would not just violate international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, it would also mean that the US would have to maintain a military presence in the Middle East indefinitely – and likely under constant fire.

To be fair, neither Iran nor the US are parties to that treaty, which makes sense because rogue states don’t like to be restrained by things like laws or international criminal courts.

In all likelihood, this will turn out to be just another one of the president’s cockamamie ideas and end up going nowhere. However, if he tries to go through with it, the international backlash will be fierce and likely result in various forms of retaliation.