Netanyahu tells Trump that Israel will ‘eliminate’ trade deficit and tariffs to avoid 17% US trade penalty
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to end the Jewish state’s trade surplus with the US and eliminate all tariffs and trade barriers on American goods — after becoming the first foreign leader to meet with President Trump since the rollout of his “Liberation Day” levies.
“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly,” Netanyahu, 75, told reporters Monday during a joint appearance with Trump, 78, in the Oval Office.
“We are also going to eliminate trade barriers … And Israel can serve as a model for many countries that ought to do the same,” the prime minister said.
“I’m a free trade champion, and free trade has to be fair trade, and I think that’s basically the position you have put forward, Mr. President. We are going to eliminate the tariffs and rapidly.”
Israel is due to face a 17% tariff beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday under Trump’s formula, which imposed a new 10% tariff baseline against most countries and higher rates against countries with which the US has trade deficits.
The US had a $7.4 billion trade deficit with Israel in 2024 — with America exporting $14.8 billion and importing 22.2 billion worth of goods, data from the Office of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Trump did not commit to calling off the tariff on Israel — despite Netanyahu’s conciliatory posture.
“We give Israel $4 billion a year. That’s a lot. Congratulations, by the way, that’s pretty good,” Trump told the Israeli head of government at one point.
Most major US trade partners have rushed to appease Trump to prevent the adoption of tariffs, though thus far none have been officially rolled back.
Trump said while seated with Netanyahu that a European Union proposal for “zero-for-zero” tariffs on industrial goods wasn’t enough — floating EU purchases of American energy as a way to close atrade deficit.
The 27-nation EU is due to face a 20% tariff under Trump’s reciprocal formula.
Trump also noted that he spoke earlier Monday with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is seeking to head off a 24% rate on his country, and warned that Tokyo must take steps to facilitate the sale of US cars and agricultural products.
The White House canceled a scheduled East Room press conference with Trump and Netanyahu — amid a third straight day of stock market panic — instead having the leaders address a smaller press pack in the Oval Office.
Stocks ping-ponged Monday following the circulation of a false report that Trump would delay imposing the tariffs for 90 days — as UK, Taiwanese, and South Korean leaders also got in line to play nice with the White House to avert the steep new levies through negotiations.
The White House says more than 50 countries have reached out for talks, while China has taken the opposite approach with retaliatory tariffs, which Trump has threatened to respond to with duties exceeding 100%.
