Washington—President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting Monday afternoon, as new tariffs Mr. Trump is levying on Israel and the rest of the world are about to go into effect.
The White House canceled a scheduled afternoon news conference abruptly and without explanation ahead of Netanyahu’s arrival.
Some reporters are still expected to watch part of the two leaders’ meeting in the Oval Office. Shortly after 1 p.m., the White House press pool said the White House informed the pool a scheduled 2:30 p.m. press conference would no longer take place. Mr. Trump and Netanyahu are expected to discuss the latest Israeli military operations in Gaza and new U.S. tariffs announced by Mr. Trump against Israel and other countries.
The Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones are whipsawing Monday after two consecutive days of losses last week, the biggest two-day drop of the stock market since the pandemic in March 2020.
Netanyahu, like other world leaders, hopes to save his country from the new tariffs Mr. Trump is imposing, even as conflict in the Middle East continues and hostages remain in the hands of Hamas. The U.S. is set to impose 17% tariffs on imports from Israel, effective Wednesday.
Ahead of the Netanyahu meeting, Mr. Trump held a joint phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Fattah al-Sisi and King Abdullah of Jordan, according to a Jordanian official.
It’s Netanyahu’s second visit to the White House since Mr. Trump took office in January. Netanyahu also visited Mr. Trump in early February. Since Mr. Trump and Netanyahu last met, the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has broken. Israel has since renewed its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The president’s decision to levy tariffs on friends and foes alike is not only roiling the markets, but setting the United States’ relationships with traditional allies on unsure footing. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, for instance, said the old U.S.-Canada relationship is “over” and Canada will need to “dramatically reduce” its reliance on the U.S.
