US President Trump: PM Netanyahu may visit US next week

U.S. President Donald Trump announced last night (Thursday) that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may visit Washington next week. According to the U.S. president, he spoke with Netanyahu earlier in the day, Reuters reported.

Trump’s announcement comes amid his signing of an executive order imposing significant tariffs on many countries. Alongside China, India, and European nations, Israel is also on the list of affected countries, with a 17% tariff on goods imported from Israel to the United States.

In Israel, Trump’s decision regarding tariffs was met with shock, mainly because intense behind-the-scenes efforts had been made to prevent radical steps concerning the import of Israeli goods to the U.S.

Senior officials in the Finance Ministry claimed that Trump’s plan would significantly harm the competitiveness of Israeli manufacturers against American factories, “since the price gap between them is now widened by 17%.” There is concern that Israeli manufacturers might want to relocate factories to the U.S., added the officials.

Israel is expected to enter negotiations with the U.S. administration to reduce the imposed tariff.

According to officials, Trump’s tariff strategy is based on the trade gap between the volume of goods a country exports to the U.S. and the volume it imports from it.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu visited Hungary today. During the visit, Hungary announced its intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán invited Netanyahu as “an act of solidarity” following the ICC arrest warrants, making this Netanyahu’s first visit to Europe since the dramatic decision by the World Court.

In a joint statement in Budapest, Orbán addressed his country’s withdrawal from the ICC.

“The International Criminal Court in The Hague – I am an expert on this matter. Hungary has decided to withdraw from it because it has become political. The decisions made regarding Israel have clearly proven that. The organization has become a cheap political tool, and we don’t want to take part in it. The foreign minister will submit a bill to parliament, and we will withdraw from the court.”