Time for a deal: Bezalel Smotrich prepares Israel for tariff negotiations

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is preparing Israel's business sector for the impact of President Trump's still high tariff rates of 10% while also preparing senior officials for intensive negotiations to bring them down, in a meeting he conducted with representatives of both today (Thursday).

According to the official statement, the meeting was attended by: Head of the National Economic Council, Prof. Avi Simhon, Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Ilan Rom, Chief Economist, Dr. Shmuel Abramzon, Accountant General, Yehali Rotenberg, Director of the Tax Authority, Shai Aharonovich, Deputy Budget Commissioner, Kfir Batat, Economic Attaché of the Ministry of Finance in the US, Noah Hacker, and other officials.

The Finance Ministry said that "during the meeting, the professionals presented the range of possible measures that can be advanced in cooperation with the American administration to maximize the benefits for the economies of both countries.

"The Ministry of Finance maintains continuous dialogue with the business sector, industrialists, and exporters, and is working with the American administration to reduce the scope of tariffs and minimize their impact on Israeli industry.

"Under the Prime Minister's directive, an Israeli delegation led by the Finance Minister will depart after the holiday to begin intensive dialogue with government officials in Washington.

"The Finance Minister summarized the steps that the State of Israel will advance toward accelerated discussions with the relevant government officials in Washington."

Prime Minister Netanyahu had already directed the elimination of all remaining tariffs on American goods a day before President Trump announced "liberation day" and also promised to remove all other barriers and eliminate the trade deficit with the United States during his meeting with the President. Trump, however, refused to commit to a reduction.