Empty handed? Netanyahu-Trump meeting disappoints with no change to tariffs, no new hostage deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed the meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday evening practically empty-handed. 

Expectations in Israel were high that Netanyahu would be able to secure either a reduction in the 17% tariffs announced by President Trump last week, or a strong stance against Iran for resisting U.S. efforts at negotiations over the country’s nuclear ambitions, or possibly even positive developments in the issue of the hostages, after Netanyahu met with Trump and his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. 

However, to the disappointment of many in Israel, Netanyahu left with little good news for Israel. Instead of announcing fresh sanctions on Iran, or a possible date for a cooperative strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. President announced direct negotiations while Netanyahu sat next to him. 

The apparent urgency of the U.S. request for Netanyahu to visit Washington appears to have been behind the Israeli expectations for significant news. Netanyahu announced the surprise visit to the U.S. as he was departing from a four day visit to Hungary. 

Unlike his previous visit, when Trump stunned the world by declaring the U.S. intention to take control of the Gaza Strip, rebuild it, and transform it into a Mediterranean Riviera, Netanyahu's reactions during this visit were notably more subdued.

Even President Trump seemed to minimize the importance of the visit which had appeared urgent at first. 

“This is a quick stop – in and out,” Trump said of Netanyahu’s visit, “but we appreciate your being here.”  

Netanyahu again thanked Trump, calling him “a remarkable friend to the State of Israel.” 

Regarding the tariffs, which appear to be based on trade deficits, Netanyahu quickly attempted to appease Trump, announcing that Israel would “eliminate the trade deficit.” 

“We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States,” Netanyahu insisted, vowing to remove “all trade barriers.”

“Israel can serve as a model for many countries that ought to do the same,” Netanyahu said. “Free trade has to be fair trade.” 

However, the gesture did not appear to be sufficient for Trump, who mentioned the nearly $4 billion in aid Israel receives each year. 

The U.S. trade deficit with Israel stood at $7.4 billion in 2024, which represents an increase of 8.6% from the previous year. 

Netanyahu and Trump only briefly mentioned the hostages, with many of their remarks coming in response to questions from reporters. 

Netanyahu spoke of the hostages and the situation in Gaza in his comments before the question and answer period. 

“We spoke about not only the hostages, but about Gaza,” Netanyahu stated. “The hostages obviously is a human story of just unbearable agony.” 

Saying that he speaks with the hostage families, the prime minister said, “The hostages are in agony, and we want to get them all out. Steve Witkoff, who is President Trump's very able representative, helped us get a deal that got 25 out. We're working now on another deal that we hope will succeed.” 

It is not clear if Netanyahu was referring to Witkoff’s proposal which Hamas rejected, or to the latest Egyptian attempt to renew the negotiations. 

For his part, Trump praised Netanyahu’s work regarding the hostages, saying he is “working very hard” for their release. 

“We are trying very hard to get the hostages out. We're looking at another ceasefire. We'll see what happens. But we want to get the hostages out. The Israeli people want the hostages out. More than anything, they want the hostages out. This man was working very hard with us to do that,” Trump said of Netanyahu. 

Netanyahu also reiterated that Trump’s Gaza proposal was still part of Israel’s plans.

"We're committed to getting all the hostages out, but also eliminating the evil tyranny of Hamas in Gaza and enabling the people of Gaza to freely make a choice to go wherever they want,” he stated. "They should have that choice. And the President put forward a vision, a bold vision, which we discussed as well, including the countries that might be amenable and are amenable to accepting Palestinians of their free choice if they choose to go there.” 

Trump also seemed to reaffirm the United States' ongoing interest in assuming control of Gaza following the war.

“Having a peace force like the United States there, controlling and owning the Gaza Strip, would be a good thing,” Trump said.

In his comments, Trump also said he hopes to see the Gaza War end soon. 

“I'd like to see the war stop, and I think the war will stop at some point, that won't be in the too-distant future.” 

“We also discussed the situation in Syria,” Netanyahu stated. We've had neighborly relations with Turkey that have deteriorated, and we don't want to see Syria being used by anyone, including Turkey, as a base for attack on Israel.” 

Netanyahu also praised Trump’s potential role in preventing a further deterioration in relations with Turkey. 

“Turkey is a country that has a great relationship with the United States. The President has a relationship with the leader of Turkey,” Netanyahu stated. “We discussed how we can avoid this conflict in a variety of ways, and I think we can't have a better interlocutor than the President of the United States for this purpose.” 

“Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think I can solve… We have to be reasonable,” Trump told Netanyahu.