US Iran Peace Talks In Islamabad: Amidst the Middle East conflict, it has become a big challenge for Iran to completely open the Strait of Hormuz. According to American officials, Iran itself is not able to accurately locate the sea mines that it had laid during the war. This is why it is now becoming difficult to reopen the waterways safely.

The exact location of the mines is not known.

American officials said that Iran does not even know where all the mines were laid. Additionally, the technical capacity to remove them is also limited. This has become the biggest problem facing Iran. This problem started last month, when after the war with America and Israel, Iran started laying mines in this strait through small boats.

On March 2, a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) declared the strait closed and warned that ships coming through it would be burned. After this, shipping was affected globally and oil prices soared.

The situation worsened after laying mines

After the laying of mines, there was a huge decline in the movement of tankers. At the same time, the threat of drone and missile attacks from Iran also increased, due to which maritime traffic was further affected. This definitely gave Iran a strategic edge during the war. According to US officials, the mines were laid haphazardly and their locations may not have been properly recorded. Some mines may have been washed away from their place, making them more difficult to find and remove.

Limited route opened, ships passing by paying toll

Iran has kept a narrow passage open through which ships can pass by paying toll. The IRGC has also warned ships about the danger of mines and issued maps of some safe routes, although these routes are limited. US President Donald Trump has linked the complete and safe opening of the strait to a possible two-week ceasefire. He said that it is necessary to open the waterways completely immediately and safely.

Iran also accepted technical limitations

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the strait will be opened keeping in mind the technical limitations. According to US officials, this statement acknowledges the problem related to mines. This issue may come up prominently in the peace talks to be held in Islamabad today. A nearly 70-member Iranian delegation, led by Abbas Araghchi, will meet US Vice President JD Vance. According to experts, removing mines is much more difficult than laying them. The American Army also uses special ships for this. Iran does not have such advanced capability that it can remove mines rapidly.

Iran still has a large fleet of small ships

Many of Iran’s naval bases and ships have been damaged in American attacks, but it still has hundreds of small ships, which are capable of laying mines or harassing ships again. Due to mines being laid through small boats, even America does not have clear information as to how many mines were laid and where they are present now. This is the reason why this crisis is becoming more complex.

Us-china trade war 2025: The US Trump administration announced the implementation of new port fees on Chinese ships, allowing trade tension between the US and China to reach the peak once again. As per the plan released by the US Trade Representative (USTR), this tax will be applicable to ships with Chinese Honorship, Operations or Building.

According to this scheme, the tax will be increased in a phased manner by April 14, 2025, and by April 2028. Initially this tax will be $ 50 per ton, which will increase to $ 140 per ton. Additionally, the container tax per container can increase from $ 120 to $ 250.

China’s Foreign Ministry criticized

According to SCMP, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Gian criticized the decision, saying that this step can be an obstruction in global supply chain, increase in costs and inflation on American consumers. He said that this policy would not be successful in reviving the shipbuilding industry in America. According to the USTR plan, every ship will be charged a maximum of five times a year. Tax will be charged at the port where the ship first enters the US to prevent small ports from bypassing.

China’s leading shipping company

Experts believe that this policy will have the most impact on China’s major shipping companies like COSCO and OOCL. According to Larsen, CEO of Shipping Consultancy Vespuchi Maritime, Ocean Alliance, including COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen and CMA CGM. They may require changes in their network. They estimate that some large Chinese container can exceed $ 10 million per port call tax for vessels. At the same time, this tax can be up to $ 4 million per port call on Chinese-made ships.

Rebate on US ship order

The US is also preparing to impose tax on vehicles and foreign manufactured vehicles transporters running with the help of LNG. Foreign automobile carriers will have to pay a tax of $ 150 per unit. This exemption will be applicable after the expiry period. However, USTR has also given relief in some cases. Such as small ships (less than 4,000 teu) and short distance trips (less than 2,000 knots) are exempted. Apart from this, if an operator orders the same sized American ship, then he can get a tax exemption on the Chinese ship.

USTR proposes 100 percent tariff

The USTR has also proposed a tariff of up to 100% on ship-to-crane and cargo handling equipment, which are imported from China. This is a step taken to make America’s maritime industry self -sufficient. Global concerns about the impact of this new policy are increasing. Clarkson Research has revised its global shipbuilding forecast for 2025 with a decline of 30%. Investors have now become cautious due to uncertainty in American trade policies.

WTO warns

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has warned that the global goods trade may fall by 0.2% in 2025 due to rising tariffs and policy uncertainty, which is much lower than the earlier estimated 2.7% increase. Exports in North America have been estimated by 12.6% and 9.6% decline in imports.

USTR released shocking report

The USTR has said in its report that the US has only 0.1% stake in global ship manufacturing, while China alone builds more ships than the rest of the world. According to 2024 data, China obtained 70% of new ship -making orders, while South Korea has 17% and Japan 5%.