Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday to discuss a range of urgent issues, including escalating trade tensions, hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and Iranian military threats, according to statements from both governments.
The meeting, Netanyahu's second with Trump since the president returned to office in January, comes as Israel marks 18 months of war in Gaza. The Israeli prime minister is also contending with mounting domestic pressure over hostages still held by Hamas and new 17% U.S. tariffs imposed on Israeli imports as part of Trump's sweeping global trade policy.
"This meeting comes at a critical moment on many key issues: the efforts to return our hostages being held by Hamas, the instability in Syria and the threats posed by Iranian proxies," said Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter.
Tariff policy featured prominently on the agenda. The U.S. levied a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, with an additional 7% surcharge on Israeli goods taking effect April 9. According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, U.S. goods imports from Israel totaled $22.2 billion in 2024, with a trade deficit of $7.4 billion. Israeli officials said the tariff rate was derived by halving the deficit-to-import ratio.
"Just as Prime Minister Netanyahu was the first world leader to visit President Trump in his second term in the White House, he is now once again the first leader to meet with the president with regard to deepening economic ties and putting trade relations in order," Leiter added.
Posting Monday on Truth Social via X, President Trump declared, "Oil prices are down, interest rates are down... and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place."
The Trump administration's move to tax Israeli exports caught Jerusalem off guard. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has since signed an order to eliminate all remaining Israeli tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports, a reciprocal gesture aimed at de-escalating tensions.
"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. "These tariffs came as a surprise... I am very optimistic that these tariffs will be reduced."
Alongside economic talks, Netanyahu and Trump addressed regional security threats. The Israeli leader reportedly pressed the U.S. to exert pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over Ankara's increased military operations in Syria, which some Israeli officials view as a potential flashpoint.
"The top issue to be discussed will be Iran because it seems [nuclear] negotiations might begin," said Ariel Kahana, senior diplomatic correspondent at Israel Hayom. "I believe Netanyahu will want to caution Trump ahead of time."
The two leaders also reviewed the humanitarian and political crisis in Gaza. Since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 251 hostages, the Israeli military campaign has claimed more than 50,750 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
