This will go down GREAT... Gulf oil will have to handle a 20% tariff vs. the rest of the world to get to market. Fertilizer, etc, anything made in the Gulf will be hit with this tariff independent of any trade agreement that might be in place with the US. Great, great way to encourage production from other regions of the world and with substitute products.

Although to be honest, oil companies will just charge everybody the tariff and pocket the profits.

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rbanffy 10 hours ago | parent [-]

That'll work until Iran starts sinking ships trusting Trump's word for them "controlling" Hormuz. Which should be more or less the first time a ship tries to cross without an Iranian blessing.

In the end, they'll pay extortion fees to two parties.

BTW, what will the US do? Sink oil carriers? Board them and take them by force regardless of their flag?

	▲	belorn 9 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The Golden Age of Piracy lasted between 1650s and the 1730s, and it involved most of the oceans and most ocean trading nations. Board or sink anyone who don't surrender to the extortion. Flags only work if nations respect them, and nations that are willing to pirate ships is very unlikely to respect flags. The Hormuz strait is now basically the same as coast of Somalia, except that now the pirates has missiles, rockets and torpedoes.
	▲	verzali 9 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		The US has already killed a few Indian sailors, I am not sure they would blink at causing an oil slick.