In a recent Cato podcast, Cato scholars Evan Sankey and Colin Grabow sit down to discuss the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and examine how great-power politics, alliance commitments, and domestic economic pressures could shape the administration’s next moves as the conflict unfolds.

Evan Sankey explains “The Strait of Hormuz in a normal year accounts for 20–25% of global oil flows, making it the largest single waterway in the world. 80% goes to Asia and 35% goes to China. In the past few days, the admin has been scrambling for policy options, one option that has been mentioned is to escort tankers through the Straight. Another option discussed was export controls to hold down the price in the United States. China has opted for export controls on diesel fuel. The administration should have known better, this fits into a White House behavior of underestimation.”

Turning to US shipping policy, Colin Grabow notes that the conflict has revived a longstanding debate over the Jones Act. Grabow says “the ideal solution here would be for Congress to suspend the Jones Act during this conflict to enable Americans to utilize all of the foreign vessels that are already in our ports and in our waters.”

The scholars also discuss how domestic political pressures and President Trump’s upcoming visit to China might affect US calculations on how long to continue the war.

You can listen to the full podcast here: https://​www​.cato​.org/​m​u​l​t​i​m​e​d​i​a​/​c​a​t​o​-​p​o​d​c​a​s​t​/​s​t​r​a​i​t​-​h​o​r​m​u​z​-​p​r​i​c​e-war


For inquires, feel free to reach out to Emily at esalamon@​cato.​org