Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel aims to eliminate trade barriers with the United States, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariff policies roil markets worldwide.
Netanyahu and Trump met in the Oval Office to discuss trade between the two nations. Imports from Israel face a 17% tariff under Trump’s new policy.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” said Netanyahu.
“We intend to do it very quickly. We think it’s the right thing to do. And we’re going to also eliminate trade barriers.”
Trump did not commit to reducing tariffs on Israel if trade barriers were removed. “Don’t forget, we help Israel a lot. We give Israel $4 billion a year. That’s a lot,” he said.
Trump also said he would not consider a 90-day pause on tariffs.
The U.S. is Israel’s largest single trading partner, though the U.S. posted a US$7.4 billion trade deficit with Israel last year. Israel ended all tariffs on U.S. imports shortly before Trump’s new slate of tariffs were announced.
Israeli exports to the U.S. could lose US$2.3 billion in value annually due to the tariffs, according to the Manufacturers Association of Israel, with 18,000 to 26,000 workers in Israel projected to lose jobs.
The two leaders also discussed Iran’s nuclear weapons program, with Trump saying the U.S. and Iran would begin direct negotiations to halt the program on Saturday. “Iran’s going to be in great danger” if talks fail, Trump said.
Netanyahu said that he and Trump had spoken about a deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and about Trump’s plan to remove all Palestinians from Gaza.
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