Politics

Major Country Pulls Tariffs On U.S. Goods Ahead Of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Deadline

Published

3 days ago

April 2, 2025

In a major win for President Donald Trump, the anti-tariff “Liberation Day” kicked off in a big way when one of the nation’s staunchest Middle East allies declared it would immediately suspend all tariffs on U.S. goods.

The move by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, announced late Tuesday, is intended to forge stronger ties with the U.S. in the midst of President Trump’s promise to back the total eradication of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

He added that doing so will reduce the cost of living for the people of Israel.

“In addition to the economic benefits for the economy and citizens of Israel, this move will allow us to further strengthen the alliance and ties between Israel and the United States,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We will continue to work to remove barriers and tariffs and to reinforce our special relationship with the United States.”

Netanyahu’s announcement, in conjunction with Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, and the country’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, came one day before President Trump’s promised purge of trade deficits with other nations by implementing sharp new tariffs on international imports.

At $34 billion, the U.S. is Israel’s largest trading partner and currently bears the brunt of a $7.4 billion trade deficit.

Both nations have been eager trading partners going back about 40 years when they first signed a bilateral trade agreement making 99% of U.S. goods sent to Israel tax-free.

The latest tariff reduction will apply to “a very limited number of products,” chiefly U.S. food and agricultural imports.

“The current administration presents a real opportunity to shape a new strategic economic future for the two countries while strengthening Israel’s central role as an economic partner,” said Smotrich.

New tariffs currently being implemented by the U.S. include a 25% charge on steel and aluminum imports, 25% tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, and a 20% tariff on goods from China, Fox Business reported.

Last week President Trump announced plans for a 25% tariff on vehicles manufactured overseas, one that is expected to take effect Wednesday.

Additional tariffs are expected to be announced by the president directly in a 4 p.m. EST news conference from the Rose Garden.

Consternation within Republican ranks has caused the administration to call out a few members of Congress who haven’t yet jumped on the tariff bandwagon. Shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday morning, President Trump issued a scathing rebuke of four Republican senators who rebuffed a resolution calling for new tariffs on Canada.

During last month’s raging debate over a possible government shutdown, President Trump called on Kentuckians to seek out a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), the libertarian-minded conservative who was the only Republican House member to vote down a continuing resolution to fund the federal government.

As the markets hold their collective breath, the Trump administration is continuing to argue that new tariffs will result in lower costs and more domestic employment in the long run.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday outlined a litany of tariffs other countries impose on U.S. goods, including Japan’s 700% charge on U.S. rice and Canada’s 300% tax on American butter and cheese, as evidence that it’s time to level the trading field.

“This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it has put a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades,” she stated.