Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday promised to eliminate Israel's trade surplus with the United States.
Netanyahu made the pledge as he sat beside Trump in the White House Oval Office.
“We intend to do it very quickly. We think it's the right thing to do, and we're going to also eliminate trade barriers,” he said.
DAILY POST reports that Netanyahu was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump at the White House since the US president announced a sweeping tariff policy last week that has hammered global financial markets and raised concerns of a recession.
The United States, Israel's closest ally and largest single trading partner, last year had a $7.4 billion goods trade deficit with Israel.
Under Trump's new policy, Israeli goods would face a 17% US tariff.
Trump made no promises when asked if his administration planned to reduce tariffs on Israeli goods.
“We've been ripped off and taken advantage of by many countries over the years, and can't do it anymore,” he said.
Israel had already moved to cancel its remaining tariffs on US imports last Tuesday.
The two countries were said to have signed a free trade agreement 40 years ago and about 98% of goods from the United States are now tax-free.
Netanyahu's visit on Monday was said to be his second to the White House since the second return of Trump on January 20 as president.
