Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday for high-level talks touching on both economic and geopolitical flashpoints. The meeting marks Netanyahu’s first visit to the White House during Trump’s second term, and he arrives amid new U.S. tariffs on Israeli goods and ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The recently implemented 17% tariff on Israeli imports stems from a broader global tariff strategy launched by the Trump administration. The structure includes a baseline 10% tariff on all nations and an additional 7% on select countries, including Israel. The stated goal of the policy is to address trade imbalances and encourage fairer economic partnerships. According to U.S. data, the trade deficit with Israel stood at $7.4 billion in 2024—an 8.6% increase from the previous year—despite nearly four decades of a free trade agreement between the two nations.
The White House maintains that the new tariffs will generate billions for the U.S. economy. On his Truth Social platform, President Trump declared, “Oil prices are down, interest rates are down, food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION,” and emphasized that tariffs were bringing in “Billions of dollars a week from the abusing countries.”
However, the tariffs caught Israeli leadership off guard. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded swiftly by eliminating remaining tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods, a move interpreted as a goodwill gesture to ease tensions ahead of Netanyahu’s visit. Experts warn that Israel’s vital high-tech and defense sectors, including drone exports, could take a significant hit. “The fear is that these tariffs will hurt exports of diamonds as well as high-tech or defense systems like drones,” said Alex Coman of the Holon Institute of Technology, who added that he remains “very optimistic that these tariffs will be reduced.”
In addition to trade, the leaders are expected to discuss a range of pressing international issues. These include the war against Hamas in Gaza, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and regional instability driven by Iranian proxies and Turkish intervention in Syria. Ariel Kahana, a senior diplomatic correspondent for Israel Hayom, said that Netanyahu will likely urge Trump to remain cautious regarding renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran. “The top issue to be discussed will be Iran,” he said, noting the recent U.S. deployment of additional anti-missile systems to Israel.
Efforts to release Israeli hostages still held by Hamas after the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack are also expected to be a focal point, as are attempts to prevent the International Criminal Court from issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials over the ongoing Gaza conflict. Netanyahu reportedly views the meeting as a chance to reinforce U.S.-Israeli ties and push for coordinated action across defense and diplomacy.
The discussions also follow a recent three-way call between Trump, Netanyahu, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and a conversation between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Netanyahu reaffirming America’s support for Israel. Netanyahu, speaking from Hungary, emphasized the significance of being the first world leader to meet with President Trump in this term. “There is a very long line of leaders who want to do the same,” he said, noting that it reflects the “special personal relationship” between the two nations.
