President Trump on Wednesday said he is considering the formation of a “joint venture” with Iran to set up tolls in the Strait of Hormuz after the Trump administration and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire deal.
[…]
The president also suggested Monday that the U.S. could impose its own tolls on vessels trying to transit through the channel. Leaders in Tehran signaled last week it would install a “toll booth” system to exert a price on ships seeking safe passage through the strait.
Yeah because the law is the one thing that can stop Trump, right? Let’s stop kidding ourselves. The only thing proven to stop Trump is leverage and force. It doesn’t even take that much because he’s so stupid he can’t usually figure out ways around it.
The problem is that the US extorting protection money from merchant ships for passing in an otherwise free international waterway makes the US government look like a mafia state. Which it may very well be, although it tried to avoid making it this clear before.
Everybody benefits from the free trade system working - and that depends on international freedom of navigation law being respected. Also Trump voting Republicans, and Republican Congressmen, benefit.
In a sane world, us voters would stop Trump. In their own rational self interest.
None of Trump’s voters are anywhere near understanding this though. They overwhelmingly vote against their own rational self interests time and time again. So a sane world is not the one we get.