Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump has earned a new nickname as tensions over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz fuel fresh market and political commentary. Analysts are now moving from the earlier ‘TACO’ label for US President to a new term ‘NACHO’.The shift comes amid ongoing blockade between the Trump administration and Iran over control and access to the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy route and continued disruption to oil shipments that has impacted global fuel prices.Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas highlighted the new term in a post on X.“We thought we were getting a TACO, ‘Trump Always Chickens Out.’ But so far we are getting a NACHO, ‘Not A Chance Hormuz Opens,’” Blas wrote.The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, handles around 20% of global crude oil shipments. Any disruption in the passage has immediate effects on global energy supply and prices.Two months into the ongoing crisis, Iran has reportedly tightened its control over the strait while the United States has imposed restrictions on Iranian ports and shipping activity.Iran has signalled it could consider reopening the waterway if US restrictions are lifted, but Washington has maintained that any easing would depend on Iran meeting its demands regarding its nuclear enrichment programme.Despite a ceasefire framework, negotiations between the US, Israel and Iran have stalled multiple times. A planned follow-up round of talks recently collapsed after Trump recalled his negotiating team to Washington.The disruption has already pushed fuel prices higher, with US gasoline prices reaching $4 per gallon earlier this month for the first time since 2022.What is TACO?TACO stands for ‘Trump Always Chickens Out’ and was coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong.It refers to a pattern observed by traders and analysts in which Trump announces aggressive tariffs or policy threats, markets react negatively and then the measures are delayed, reversed, or softened.The pattern has become widely used on Wall Street, where some investors buy stocks after market dips triggered by policy announcements, anticipating a rebound if the threats are not fully implemented.Rise of the ‘NACHO’ labelNACHO stands for ‘Not A Chance Hormuz Opens’ and was described by Javier Blas. It reflects growing skepticism among traders that the Strait of Hormuz dispute will be quickly resolved, even amid diplomatic efforts and ceasefire arrangements.White House spokesperson Kush Desai pushed back on the narrative, questioning critics of the administration’s trade and policy record.“Are these the same geniuses who thought President Trump would never secure voluntary Most-Favored-Nations drug pricing deals or renegotiate broken trade deals?” Desai said in response to the new nickname, Independent reported. Trump himself has previously rejected the ‘TACO’ label, calling it inaccurate and framing his actions as negotiation strategy rather than reversal.“I chicken out? Oh, I’ve never heard that,” he said earlier, arguing that market reactions are part of broader deal-making dynamics.
