On April 12, 2026, President Trump announced that the US Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks between VP Vance and Iranian officials in Islamabad failed to reach an agreement. The strait has been effectively closed to normal commercial traffic since Iran began charging transit tolls to select vessels in early March, with some ships paying as much as $2 million per passage. For US importers, this crisis adds a significant new cost layer on top of existing tariffs: higher shipping rates, longer transit times, soaring energy and raw material prices, and elevated war risk insurance premiums. This guide covers what happened, what it means for your import costs, and what you should do right now.
What Happened: Timeline of the Hormuz Crisis
The conflict between the US/Israel and Iran escalated into open hostilities on February 28, 2026, when US and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iranian military targets. Iran responded by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping in early March, selectively allowing some vessels to transit in exchange for tolls reported as high as $2 million per passage. The strait normally handles approximately 20% of the world's seaborne oil trade — roughly 20 million barrels per day. On March 11, IEA member countries agreed to release 400 million barrels from emergency petroleum reserves to stabilize markets. On March 18, an attack damaged Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG facility, taking offline approximately 17% of Qatar's natural gas export capacity. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain collectively shut in an estimated 7.5 million barrels per day of oil production in March, rising to an estimated 9.1 million barrels per day in April due to storage constraints and infrastructure damage. On April 7, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire conditional on Iran reopening the strait, but the strait remained effectively closed. On April 12, Trump announced the US Navy would impose a full blockade, ordering the prevention of all ships from entering or leaving the strait.
Oil and Energy Price Impact
Brent crude oil has surged from approximately $61 per barrel in January 2026 to over $118 per barrel by the end of Q1 — nearly doubling in three months. US retail gasoline hit $3.99 per gallon and diesel reached $5.40 per gallon by March 30. These energy prices directly affect import costs in two ways. First, higher bunker fuel costs for container ships translate into carrier fuel surcharges added to freight rates. Second, petroleum-derived products — plastics (HTS Chapter 39), synthetic textiles (Chapter 54/55), chemicals (Chapters 28-38), rubber products, and fertilizers — all face higher input costs at the factory level, meaning the FOB product price itself is increasing for many categories. Aluminum and fertilizer prices have also risen sharply due to supply disruption from Gulf producers.
Shipping Cost and Transit Time Impact
Vessels that previously transited the Strait of Hormuz to reach the Suez Canal and onward to US East Coast ports must now reroute around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa. This adds approximately 10-15 days to transit times for shipments from East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East to the US East Coast. The longer route increases fuel consumption, ties up vessel capacity, and reduces the effective supply of container shipping globally. Ocean freight rates have spiked accordingly — carriers are imposing emergency bunker adjustment factors (BAF) and war risk surcharges on top of already elevated base rates. For importers shipping from the Persian Gulf region, the disruption is most severe: some routes are simply unavailable, and available alternatives carry premium pricing. Even shipments from East Asia to US West Coast ports (which don't transit Hormuz) are affected because the global shipping network is interconnected — capacity diverted to longer routes reduces availability everywhere.
War Risk Insurance and Surcharges
Marine cargo insurance and war risk premiums for vessels transiting anywhere near the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Arabian Sea have increased dramatically. War risk insurance that previously cost a fraction of a percent of cargo value now runs 1-3% or more for Middle East routes. Some underwriters have declined to cover transit through the affected area entirely. Even shipments not transiting the Hormuz area may see modest insurance premium increases as overall maritime risk levels have risen. Importers should check with their cargo insurance providers about current rates and coverage exclusions — some policies may have war exclusion clauses that require separate war risk riders.
Impact on Raw Material and Product Costs
Beyond shipping, the Hormuz crisis is driving up costs for petroleum-derived raw materials used in manufacturing worldwide. Plastics and polymer resins — used in packaging, consumer electronics housings, auto parts, and countless other products — are seeing price increases as petrochemical feedstock costs rise. Synthetic fibers used in textiles and apparel are also affected. Aluminum prices have increased due to disruptions at Gulf smelters, particularly in the UAE and Bahrain, which are major global aluminum producers. Fertilizer prices are elevated due to disruption of Gulf petrochemical exports, affecting agricultural product costs downstream. These input cost increases will gradually flow through to the FOB prices quoted by manufacturers, meaning the customs value on which US tariffs are calculated will itself be higher — a compounding effect on top of the tariff rates.
Section 122 Tariffs Still Apply
The 10% Section 122 tariff remains in effect on all imports regardless of the Hormuz situation, and is still scheduled to expire approximately July 24, 2026. Section 232 tariffs (50% on steel and aluminum) and Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods also continue unchanged. The Hormuz crisis adds costs on top of these existing tariff layers — higher shipping, higher insurance, higher raw material prices, and longer lead times. There is no emergency tariff relief mechanism for disruptions of this nature. Use the TariffsTool landed cost calculator to model your current total costs including the tariff layers, and add the current freight and insurance quotes from your forwarder to get an accurate picture.
What Importers Should Do Now
First, get updated freight and insurance quotes from your forwarder — rates are changing rapidly and quotes from even two weeks ago may be stale. Factor the higher shipping and insurance costs into your landed cost calculations using our calculator. Second, review your inventory levels and consider building buffer stock for critical components, especially petroleum-derived products, aluminum goods, and anything sourced from or shipped through the Middle East. Third, evaluate alternative sourcing from countries and routes not affected by the strait disruption — overland routes from European suppliers or trans-Pacific routes from East Asian suppliers avoid the Hormuz bottleneck entirely. Fourth, lock in freight rates where possible before further escalation. Fifth, monitor the Section 122 expiration date (still approximately July 24, 2026) — if the tariff expires without replacement while shipping costs remain elevated, the net cost picture could shift significantly. Finally, subscribe to our newsletter for updates on how this crisis affects import costs as the situation develops.
Key Takeaway
The Strait of Hormuz blockade adds a significant new cost layer for US importers: higher shipping rates, 10-15 day longer transit times, elevated insurance premiums, and rising raw material costs. These costs compound on top of existing Section 122, Section 232, and Section 301 tariffs. The importers least affected will be those sourcing from East Asia via trans-Pacific routes and those with sufficient inventory buffers. Use our tools to model your current total costs and plan accordingly.
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