Last Updated:April 05, 2025, 09:19 IST
US President Donald Trump (IMAGE: REUTERS)
Nearly two days after the United Nations imposed reciprocal tariffs on several countries, the country is holding trade talks with Vietnam, India, and Israel, with President Donald Trump personally engaging with representatives from these countries.
The talks between Trump and these countries represent only a small portion of those impacted by his broad tariffs. Notably, the talks are seen as an initial step in ongoing negotiations as nations prepare their responses, reported CNN, citing a source.
The tariff on India, Israel and Vietnam will be imposed from April 9, along with other countries including Japan, Canada, Mexico, and China, among others.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed tariffs with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he plans to visit the White House to meet President Trump, the State Department said in a readout of their conversation on Friday.
Unspecified Israeli goods exports to the United States, Israel’s largest single trading partner, was slapped with a 17% tariff.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to underscore US support for Israel,” the US readout said. “The secretary discussed the situation in Gaza and the administration’s resolve to free the hostages in Gaza and recently announced tariffs.”
However, there is no statement on the call from the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu is likely to visit the US soon, reports suggested. It is speculated that if Netanyahu visits Washington, one of the key items on his agenda is expected to be the 17 per cent tax imposed by the Trump administration on Israeli imports.
On Friday, Vietnam who was slapped with 46 per cent tariff, said it was cutting US’ tariffs to zero. Predient Donald Trump informed about the same from his social media platform Truth Social.
“Just had a very productive call with To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who told me that Vietnam wants to cut their Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the US I thanked him on behalf of our Country, and said I look forward to a meeting in the near future,” said Trump in a post.
While some members of the administration argue that the tariffs are a deliberate move by the president to shift global trade patterns, Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believes the tariffs will strengthen his ability to negotiate trade deals with other global leaders.
“Every country has called us. That’s the beauty of what we do, we put ourselves in the driver’s seat. The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have,” Trump said.
Vietnam, the largest trading partner of the US in Southeast Asia and a crucial manufacturing hub, was slapped with 46 per cent tariff as part of Trump’s sweeping trade policies. While it was earlier stated that the tariffs were non-negotiable, the recent talks with Trump point towards other direction.
27% Tariff On India
Imposing 27 per cent tariffs on India, US President Donald Trump stated that while Indian Prime Minister is a friend, India charges a 52 per cent tariff on US goods. Trump also added, “We have charged them almost nothing for years and years”.
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
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