Israel Pledges to Close Trade Deficit
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at a joint press conference at the White House with President Donald Trump, told reporters: "I said to the president, 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, variety of trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily.
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"And I think Israel can serve as a model for many countries who ought to do the same. I recognize the position of the United States that says we are allowing other countries to put tariffs on us, but we don't put tariffs on them. We are going to eliminate the tariffs and rapidly."
The U.S. plans to impose 17% tariffs on Israeli exports on April 9, despite the free trade agreement with Israel. According to U.S. data, the U.S. imported $22.2 billion in goods from Israel in 2024, and exported $14.8 billion in goods that year. The top imports from Israel are diamonds, electronic equipment, and pharmaceuticals. The top exports to Israel are diamonds, ammunition and medicines.