Despite high expectations in Israel, U.S. President Donald Trump made no formal announcement Monday evening about lifting the recently imposed 17% tariffs on Israeli imports. The matter was notably absent from the joint statement he delivered with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following their meeting in Washington.
While the leaders exchanged warm words, the tariff issue remains unresolved. However, sources told Ynet that a potential deal could be in the works: Israel may agree to prioritize imports of American electric vehicles over popular Chinese alternatives in exchange for a future reduction in tariffs.
2 View gallery
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump
(Photo:SAUL LOEB / AFP)
“I told the president that we would reduce our trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu said during the briefing, referring to the $7 billion gap between U.S. exports to Israel and Israeli exports to the U.S.
One likely scenario is that Israel will increase its purchases of U.S. goods — particularly military equipment — to help balance trade. A similar arrangement occurred in the past when the IDF purchased large quantities of American-made military boots, replacing domestically produced ones. That move led to the closure of production lines in Israel and layoffs of local workers.
Such forward purchasing of U.S. military hardware could total billions of dollars and effectively reduce Israel’s trade deficit with Washington.
When pressed on the tariff issue, Trump was noncommittal. “I’m not sure if I’ll lower the tariffs on Israel — we’ll see,” he said. “What I can say is we take care of our friends, not our enemies. We provide a lot of defense aid to Israel — among the highest we give.”
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
The president also took aim at other countries over trade, warning that the U.S. had been exploited for years. “We can’t keep being stupid,” he said. “If China doesn’t remove the tariffs it imposed by tomorrow at noon — we’ll slap additional tariffs on them.”
Trump also criticized the European Union, accusing it of unfair practices despite U.S. support for NATO. “There’s a $350 billion trade deficit but it’ll disappear quickly. They’ll have to start buying our energy,” he said.
In response to the joint statement, Dr. Ron Tomer, president of Israel’s Manufacturers Association, urged the government to press forward. “The government must negotiate full force and reach an agreement with the U.S. to eliminate the tariffs entirely.
“President Trump has a very favorable view of Israel and we believe swift and decisive action can close the trade gap in a way that benefits both countries.”
Tomer warned that failure to lift the tariffs could have severe consequences. “Keeping the U.S. tariffs in place would be devastating for the Israeli economy — causing billions in damage and tens of thousands of job losses. This must be reversed immediately to protect our economy. There’s no other option.”