"We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly."
"I think we've come up to some pretty good solutions and conclusions," Trump said, saying he appreciated Netayahu's visit. "We are a friend of Israel, as you know, I would say that I'm by far the best president Israel has ever thought of seeing." Trump said that Israel is not in an "easy" area, and that the two leaders spoke about Iran, as well.
"We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. 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," Netanyahu said. He said he believed that "Israel can serve as a model" and that as a "free trade champion" he believes that free trade "must be fair trade."
According to Israel’s Channel 12, the meetings are scheduled through Tuesday but could be extended. After landing in Washington, Netanyahu’s motorcade drove to the Blair House for a meeting with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer regarding the tariffs.
Israeli goods are facing a 17 percent US tariff following Trump’s announcement. Currently, the US is Israel’s closest ally and largest single trading partner. In advance of Trump's reciprocal tariff announcement, Israel stated it would remove tariffs on many American products.
According to The Times of Israel, the Manufacturers Association of Israel presented Netanyahu with an analysis warning of a $2.3 billion hit to Israel’s economy from the president’s new tariffs, and 18,000-26,000 Israelis could lose their jobs. Additionally, if tariffs are placed on Israel’s pharmaceutical and chip industries, the impact on Israeli exports could reach as high as $3 billion.
While aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump told reporters that he would be discussing the tariffs with Netanyahu, saying, “We’re going to talk about trade, and we’re going to talk about the obvious subject, you know what the obvious subject is. There are a lot of things going on with the Middle East right now that have to be silenced.”
A meeting is also expected with Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Witkoff has led the efforts to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal in Gaza, following the collapse of the previous agreement.
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