Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, becoming the first foreign leader to personally request relief from the U.S tariffs that have disrupted global trade.
This will be Netanyahu’s second meeting with Trump since the U.S. president’s return to office in January.
In addition to discussing trade issues, Netanyahu plans to seek further support from the U.S. on Iran and the Gaza conflict, where a temporary U.S.-brokered ceasefire recently collapsed.
“We’re going to talk about trade, and we’re going to talk about the obvious subject,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, returning from a weekend in Florida.
“There’s a lot of things going on with the Middle East right now that have to be silenced.”
On Sunday night, after his arrival, Netanyahu held discussions with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, according to his office.
He also met with Trump’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, on Monday.
Netanyahu, arriving from Hungary, is primarily focused on persuading Trump to reverse or at least reduce the 17 percent tariff set to be imposed on Israeli imports.
Before leaving Budapest, Netanyahu said the discussions would cover a variety of topics, including “the tariff regime that has also been imposed on Israel.”
“I’m the first international leader, the first foreign leader who will meet with President Trump on a matter so crucial to Israel’s economy,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“I believe this reflects the special personal relationship and the unique bond between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time.”
In Budapest, Netanyahu met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who withdrew Hungary from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
The two leaders also spoke with Trump by phone on Thursday.
Analysts suggest that Netanyahu aims to secure an exemption from the tariffs for Israel.
“The urgency (of the visit) makes sense in terms of stopping it before it gets institutionalized,” said Jonathan Rynhold, head of political studies at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv.
“Such an exemption would not only benefit Trump’s closest Middle East ally but also ‘please Republicans in Congress, whose voters care about Israel but are unwilling to confront Trump on this at this point,’” he added.
Israel had tried to circumvent the new tariffs by lifting all remaining Israeli duties on the one percent of U.S. goods still affected by them before Trump’s announcement.
However, Trump did not grant Israel an exemption, citing the trade deficit between the two countries, despite Israel being the top recipient of U.S. military aid.
In addition to trade, Netanyahu is expected to discuss the ongoing war with Hamas, the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, and the growing threat from Iran.
Israel resumed airstrikes on Gaza on March 18, following the collapse of a ceasefire brokered.
