Trump unveils sweeping global tariffs, including 17% US import duty on Israeli goods
Manufacturers Association calls move ‘worrying step’ that diminishes trade between countries, warns it could impact job market; penalties come despite Israel cancelling all tariffs on US goods
US President Donald Trump unveiled Wednesday a raft of punishing tariffs targeting countries around the world, including some of its closest trading partners, in a move that risks sparking a ruinous trade war.
The tariffs include a 17 percent duty on Israeli products imported to the United States. Jerusalem was hit despite Israel seeking to prevent the move with a directive that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed Tuesday to immediately scrap all remaining tariffs on American imports.
Smotrich called a meeting on Thursday of senior ministry staff to discuss the development, the Kan public broadcaster reported.
The Manufacturers Association of Israel said the tariffs are “worrying” and will seek to work with the finance and economy ministries to reverse the development.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden against a backdrop of US flags, Trump slapped the most stinging tariffs on China and the European Union on what he called “Liberation Day.”
“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said.
The president presented a chart of 60 countries targeted by the tariffs, with Israel showing as leveling an alleged 33% tax on US imports.
The decision could raise prices on consumer goods, including kosher food and Judaica that are produced in Israel. Israel is also a major exporter of technology, precious stones and medical supplies, sending products valued at more than $22 billion to the United States in 2024.
Trump argued that the tariffs are needed to reclaim money and respect that other countries have taken from the United States. His critics, including most mainstream economists, say they will wreak havoc on the global economy and translate largely into higher prices for US consumers.
Ahead of Trump’s speech, an administration official told reporters that “Israel steals a lot of intellectual property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country.”
Manufacturers Association of Israel president Ron Tomer said it was a “worrying step for Israeli manufacturers, which is likely to impact local jobs and reduce activities in the American market.”
He further warned that the measures could harm the stability of the Israeli economy, deter foreign investments and weaken the ability of Israeli companies to compete in the American market.
Economic cooperation between Israel and the US is “critical, especially in the security sector,” he stressed while urging the removal of trade barriers.
Tomer also questioned the 33% tax on American goods, saying the figure” is not understood, and therefore the measure of 17% tax is not clear.”
He said the MAF would work with the finance and economy ministries to have the tariff canceled, but if it remains in place, it will represent “a withdrawal in the trade and investments relations between the countries, in particular in light of the fact that for many years a deep and faithful relationship existed between the two countries.”
The association will also work to “put together alternative strategies to deal with the new situation, seek new markets for Israel exports,” while also speaking with Washington decision-makers to “soften the negative influences,” Tomer said.
Opposition Yesh Atid Party MK Vladimir Beliak, who coordinates opposition activities in the Knesset Finance Committee, scoffed at Smotrich for canceling US tariffs a day early.
In a post to X, he wrote that the minister, in response, was “hit in the face” with the new tariffs. Genius.”
Smotrich had signed Tuesday a directive to scrap all remaining tariffs on imports from the US with immediate effect, in an apparent attempt to win a reprieve from the expected Trump administration’s levy of reciprocal duties the next day.
The order was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Nir Barkat but is subject to final approval by the Knesset Finance Committee.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump would adjust the tariffs on Israeli goods as a result of the cancellation of Israeli tariffs, as he did for other countries that previously eliminated tariffs on US goods under Trump’s trade pressure.
When Netanyahu announced the cancellation decision on X, owner and Trump’s governing partner Elon Musk tweeted a two-emoji response: the American and Israeli flags, side by side.
Today we cancelled all of the customs duties levied on products from the US, Israel's largest trading partner.
Cancelling the customs duties on American goods is an additional step in the policy that my governments have led for a decade in opening up the market to competition,…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) April 1, 2025
Last year Israeli exports to the US were worth NIS 52 billion ($14 billion), while imports amounted to NIS 32 billion ($8.6 billion), Kan reported.
However, it noted that a significant amount of the exports was in the form of services rather than goods and it was not yet clear how the new tariffs would be applied.
Speaking at the White House as he unveiled the tariffs, Trump reserved some of the heaviest blows for what he called the “nations that treat us badly,” including 34% on goods from superpower rival China, 20% on key ally the European Union and 24 percent on Japan.
But the 78-year-old Republican said that he is “very kind” and so is only imposing half the amount that those countries tax US exports.
For the rest, Trump said he would impose a “baseline” tariff of 10%, including Britain.
FULL LIST: Liberation Day pic.twitter.com/ZBiRuJBCAr
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2025
An audience of cabinet members, as well as workers in hard hats from industries including steel, oil and gas, whooped and cheered as Trump said the tariffs would “make America wealthy again.”
“This is Liberation Day,” Trump said, adding that it would “forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America’s destiny was reclaimed.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned trading partners that any retaliation to the barrage of new tariffs from the White House will only result in further escalation.
“My advice to every country right now is, do not retaliate,” Bessent told Fox News. “Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be an escalation. If you don’t retaliate, this is the high watermark.”
The Times of Israel Community.