From the Liveblog of
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Smotrich speaking to industry leaders about Israel’s next steps in light of Trump’s tariffs
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that he is “holding a dialogue with industry and heads of the economy,” after US President Donald Trump announced a 17 percent duty on Israeli products imported to the US.
Earlier this morning, the Finance Ministry said it was studying Trump’s decision to levy global tariffs and its implications for the State of Israel.
“I spoke with some of them personally,” he says of the economic leaders, “and in about an hour I will bring the Finance Ministry management into the first discussion to analyze opportunities and risks and formulate courses of action, both vis-à-vis President Trump and his team and regarding the steps required to strengthen Israeli industry.”
The tariffs on Israeli products are part of a sweeping series of duties imposed on countries around the world. They were imposed despite efforts by Jerusalem to win a reprieve from the Trump administration on Tuesday through the scrapping of all remaining tariffs on imports from the US with immediate effect.
The Times of Israel Community.