Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Iran will charge maritime service fees, rather than levy tolls, on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz under a framework agreement with the United States, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the United States expects the waterway to remain open to toll-free transit in the long term.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference that Iran does not seek to collect tolls from ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, but will charge them for the services it provides along with Oman.
Also on Monday, Vance told CNBC that the United States expects the strait will be open without tolls on a long-term basis.
The United States and Iran have reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to end hostilities, lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and halt military operations across multiple fronts.
The deal, announced early on Monday offered a glimmer of hope for an end to the fighting and a return to stability across the region.
Iran says to charge Hormuz service fees, US seeks toll-free passage
A leading Japanese economist has warned that the Bank of Japan's anticipated interest rate hike will not address the country's fundamental economic problems, calling instead for structural reforms and stronger support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The economist's comments come as the yen exchange rate continues to hover near 160 yen per U.S. dollar, with Japanese media and financial markets widely expecting the Bank of Japan to announce a rate hike at its monetary policy meeting on June 15 and 16.
"Japanese political and economic scholar Hamada Kazuyuki said: "The future trend of the Japanese economy is also affected by factors such as rising crude oil prices and inflation, and there are no signs of these problems being resolved anytime soon. If left unchecked, they will develop into a serious inflationary trend. This will not only affect enterprises but also the daily lives of ordinary people. Therefore, in order to curb these impacts, the Bank of Japan is taking countermeasures and adjusting toward the direction of raising interest rates. However, whether these measures can truly be effective still remains highly uncertain," he said.
He also noted that the operations of small and medium-sized enterprises in Japan continue to face pressure, and the overall recovery of the Japanese economy is filled with uncertainty. The Japanese government's model of relying on debt to rescue the market only addresses symptoms rather than root causes and cannot solve the fundamental problems of the Japanese economy, he added.
"More than 80 percent, or even 90 percent, of Japanese enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises. Only a small number of large enterprises have gained profits from exchange rate fluctuations. The vast majority of small and medium-sized enterprises are already on the edge of life and death. Therefore, without more adequate support policies for small and medium-sized enterprises, it will be very difficult for the Japanese economy to achieve recovery or restoration. The current government is in a rather difficult situation. Originally, it said no supplementary budget was needed, but as the economy deteriorates, it has no choice but to rely on supplementary budgets and deficit financing to barely cope. But this is not a fundamental solution. Continuing down this path will only make Japan's situation further deteriorate. Therefore, if the government truly wants to improve the economy, it must cut waste within the existing fiscal scope and concentrate resources into truly effective areas. This is the necessary direction," he said.
Japanese economist warns rate hike inadequate, urges structural reform
