U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his aggressive trade tariff strategy on Monday while signaling openness to potential “fair deals” with several countries during a high-profile meeting at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu announced that Israel is committed to eliminating all trade barriers and tariffs with the United States, pledging to erase Israel’s trade surplus and deepen bilateral commerce.
“We want to eliminate the trade deficits with the U.S.,” Netanyahu said. “We will eliminate any trade barriers. We are going to eliminate the tariffs—and rapidly.”
Trump praised the Israeli leader’s announcement but didn’t offer reciprocal tariff reductions, instead promising, “We’ll take good care of our dear friends.”
Still, the president made it clear that no country would be exempt from the broader reset in America’s global trade posture.
Tariffs Here To Stay And Possibly Permanently
“We have been ripped off by a lot of countries over the years,” Trump said. “We can’t do it anymore.”
Asked whether he would consider a pause in tariffs, Trump firmly replied, “We are not looking into that. We want to sign fair deals with countries.”
He indicated that the tariffs are not just staying—they may become permanent unless foreign governments meet U.S. demands. “Virtually every country wants to negotiate,” Trump said. “They are all offering things to us because they are experiencing a lot of hurt.”
Trump portrayed the …