Israel awaits US decision on proposed 17% tariff

Since April, Israeli goods entering the US have been subject to shifting interim rates.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israel is awaiting a decision from President Donald Trump on the tariff rate in hopes that the US president will consider lowering it from the hike proposed last year to 17%.

The rate derived from US calculations tied to its bilateral trade deficit.

While lower than the levies imposed on some countries under Trump’s broader tariff initiative, Israeli officials argue the figure is inconsistent with the strategic and economic relationship between the two allies.

Since April, Israeli goods entering the US have been subject to shifting interim rates.

For several months following Trump’s initial tariff announcement, Israeli exports were taxed at 10%, matching a temporary baseline applied to many countries.

Beginning in early August, that rate rose to 15% on roughly 60% of Israeli exports, pending a final determination.

Jerusalem has been lobbying intensively for a reduction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also reported to have addressed the issue directly with Trump, emphasizing Israel’s security burden and its longstanding free-trade status with the US.

Israel’s senior trade attaché in Washington, Yoav Seidel, said negotiations are approaching their final stage. “There’s reason to believe we will reach a good tariff agreement with the United States, significantly lower than 17%,” he told ynet.

The discussions are unfolding as the US enforces sweeping sector-based tariffs that apply universally, including to Israeli products.

Metals such as aluminum, steel, and copper are taxed at 50%, while vehicles and auto parts carry a 25% duty. Wood products face tariffs ranging from 10% to 25%.

Israel has also taken steps to ease trade friction on agriculture. One day before Trump unveiled the tariff package in April, Smotrich announced the removal of tariffs on a narrow group of US agricultural imports.

That move affected a limited volume of goods but signaled willingness to make concessions.

Those efforts expanded in December, when Barkat signed a new agricultural trade agreement with US Trade Representative Jamison Greer.

Under the deal, Israel will eliminate tariffs on about 300 US food and agricultural products, with some exemptions taking effect immediately and others phased in over the next decade.

Trump’s pending decision is expected to clarify whether those concessions — and Israel’s broader case — will translate into a lower long-term tariff rate.