Netanyahu travels to Washington to discuss tariffs with Trump
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading from Budapest to Washington, D.C. on Sunday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday. They're expected to talk about the tariffs that have been placed on Israel too, according to Reuters.
On April 2, Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing tariffs on pretty much every country in the world. He said it was a response to the tariffs placed on American products, but it later became clear that the U.S. is actually targeting countries based on how big their trade surplus is with America.
Despite the fact that Israel had already lowered its tariffs on U.S.
goods before the announcement, the American government still imposed a
17% tariff on Israeli products. The U.S. is Israel's most important
trading partner.
Netanyahu told Reuters that he hopes to improve the situation and pointed out that he'll be the first head of government to meet with Trump since the tariffs were announced — a sign of the strong personal connection between him and the U.S. president.
In addition to the tariffs, the talks will also cover the situation of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Earlier this week, Netanyahu, Orbán, and Trump also had a phone call to discuss these issues.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been in Budapest since April 3. During his visit, the Hungarian government announced that it would start the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move came after the ICC issued arrest warrants in mid-November for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes.
The court cited, among other things, the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, as well as charges of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Israel rejected the court's jurisdiction over the case, but that objection was dismissed.
Netanyahu's office called the ICC's decision absurd and antisemitic, describing the court as politically motivated and discriminatory.
