'Israel' drops tariffs on US ahead of Trump's duties on trade allies
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The decision closely precedes Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs, which are expected to upend the global trade system and potentially spark a trade war.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks with Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on January 7, 2024. (AP)
"Israel" scrapped all its tariffs against the United States on Wednesday, ahead of Trump's reciprocal tariffs, which are expected to be announced later today.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed a directive coordinated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Nir Barkat to remove all the remaining tariffs "Israel" imposed on US imports, pending final approval by the Knesset Finance Committee.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter on March 20 to remove tariffs on US imports—especially agricultural products—before the US administration’s planned April 2 rollout of reciprocal trade tariffs on partners.
“Fully eliminating tariffs on imports from the US is an important step to safeguard the Israeli economy during a sensitive period and to strengthen the economic relationship with our most important ally – the US,” the finance minister stated.
“We will continue to act decisively to protect Israeli exports and preserve the competitive advantages of Israel in the international arena," he added, emphasizing that “the goal of the move is to promote a zero-tariff policy between the countries and maintain positive trade relations with the US."
The White House confirmed that the US president will announce new tariffs on April 2 at 4 pm Eastern Time (2000 GMT), without revealing any details regarding the scope and scale of the new levies, other than their reciprocal nature.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that reciprocal tariffs on nations taxing US goods would begin right after Trump's announcement, while a 25% auto import tariff would start on April 3.
“The urgent demand to eliminate the remaining tariffs comes as it appears that Smotrich understood that [US President Donald] Trump decided to completely change the rules of the game of international trade and base them on ‘America first’ and national security interests,” Dan Catarivas, President of "Israel's" Bi-National Chambers told The Times of Israel.
The US appears determined to retaliate against nations that tax American goods, so to prevent friction with Washington, the finance minister aims to eliminate all remaining Israeli tariffs on US farm imports, Catarivas stated, adding that “If Israel is included in the new trade policy, our agricultural exports to the US are going to be affected because they will be less competitive, as tariffs are hurting competitiveness and profitability.”
