Israel promises to eliminate U.S. trade deficit at White House meeting

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump on Monday and promised to end Israel’s trade deficit with the United States and eliminate all Israeli tariffs on U.S. imports. The pair reiterated their alliance during an afternoon news conference, where Netanyahu insisted that Israel could serve as an example to other countries by making free trade fair, the prime minister said.

The meeting came about a week after Trump imposed a 17% tariff on Israel as part of what he characterized as his tariff-matching policy. Netanyahu described the deal as fair and promised swift action. Over 50 countries reached out to negotiate with the White House after the tariff hikes, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said during a Monday interview.

What else did Trump and Netanyahu discuss? The United States is engaging in direct nuclear talks with Iran, and a high-level meeting is slated for Saturday, Trump said. Trump added that it is in Iran’s best interest to agree to a deal, and said both Israel and the United States wanted to avoid what would happen to Iran if a deal is not reached. His comments came after Netanyahu also mentioned Israel’s efforts to reach another deal that would result in the release of the remaining hostages held by the terror group Hamas. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also briefly took the floor to discuss the U.S. operations against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea region. The Houthi terrorists have suffered a lot over the last few weeks, and it’s only going to get worse, Hegseth said. The United States will not stop its campaign until Houthis stop shooting at U.S. vessels, he added.

Dig deeper: Read my report from this morning about other countries responding to Trump’s recent tariffs.