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https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/us-oil-imports-by-country
Posted on 04/01/2025 8:33:54 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday signed a directive to scrap all remaining tariffs on imports from the US with immediate effect, in an apparent attempt to win a reprieve from the Trump administration’s levy of reciprocal duties expected to be announced Wednesday.
The order was coordinated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Economy Minister Nir Barkat, but is subject to final approval by the Knesset Finance Committee.
In a letter sent on March 20 to Barkat and Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter, Smotrich asked for the removal of tariffs on products from the US, mainly in the area of agriculture, as reciprocal and sectoral tariffs on US trading partners are set to be imposed on April 2 by the US .
Israel and the US signed a free trade agreement in 1985. Under the agreement, the US and Israel implemented phased tariff reductions, eventually leading to the almost complete elimination of duties on manufactured goods in 1995. However, the agreement does allow the US and Israel to maintain some import and tariff restrictions, like quantitative restrictions and fees on agricultural products, mainly to safeguard local production and food security.
“Fully eliminating tariffs on imports from the US is an important step to safeguard the Israeli economy during a sensitive period and to strengthen the economic relationship with our most important ally – the US,” Smotrich said Tuesday. “We will continue to act decisively to protect Israeli exports and preserve the competitive advantages of Israel in the international arena.”
“The goal of the move is to promote a zero-tariff policy between the countries and maintain positive trade relations with the US,” said Smotrich.
Customs duties collected on imports from the US, mainly agriculture-related products, currently amount to a mere NIS 42 million ($11 million) per year, according to Finance Ministry data. The limited list of agricultural products that are subject to import tariff protection include apples, pears, persimmons, almonds, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, hummus, processed corn, and frozen vegetables, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
“The remaining tariffs are in place partly because we don’t want to be flooded by cheap agricultural products and to protect the local agricultural industry, which means that a removal of the tariffs will require the Israeli government to come up with an agricultural policy to support local producers,” Dan Catarivas, president of the Israeli Federation of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told The Times of Israel.
The Agriculture Ministry said in response that it is examining the repercussions of the changes in the US administration’s trade policy and is working on formulating a support framework to minimize the harm to war-battered Israeli farmers in the periphery, ensure the viability of local production, and preserve national food security.
“The urgent demand to eliminate the remaining tariffs comes as it appears that Smotrich understood that [US President Donald] Trump decided to completely change the rules of the game of international trade and base them on ‘America first’ and national security interests,” he added.
“It looks like the US administration has decided that any country that imposes tariffs on American products will be reciprocated, meaning that in order to avoid any clashes between Israel and the US, the finance minister wants to abolish all the remaining tariffs on US agricultural exports to Israel,” said Catarivas, who is also head of the foreign trade division at the Manufacturers Association of Israel and a former Finance Ministry official.
“If Israel is included in the new trade policy, our agricultural exports to the US are going to be affected because they will be less competitive, as tariffs are hurting competitiveness and profitability.”
In his letter, Smotrich warned the economy and agriculture ministers about the significant change in the US administration’s global trade policy and potential consequences for Israeli imports, adding that Trump’s tariffs are expected to be imposed on both “friendly and enemy countries.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (L) and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meet in Washington on March 5, 2025. (Finance Ministry) Smotrich added that removing taxes is in line with the government’s policy in the fight against the cost of living, and will increase competition in the food sector.
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Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce CEO Gilit Rubinstein commended Smotrich’s call to take action to “remove tariff and regulatory barriers that restrict imports from the US.”
“The removal of import barriers from the US is a necessary and beneficial step to avoid jeopardizing Israeli exports to the US,” said Rubinstein. “Reducing tariffs, along with regulatory relief, will also contribute to increasing competition and addressing the cost of living.”
Rubinstein said that the FICC is working with government ministries to support efforts to “remove the remaining barriers, such as those related to toys and baby products, food, transportation products, and more.”
“The goal of the move is to promote a zero-tariff policy between the countries and maintain positive trade relations with the US,” said Smotrich.
Exactly.
I noticed gas prices at my local Shell station jumped today. Was 3.09 yesterday - 3.49 today.
Natural went up 20 cents a therm for April, too.
Winning!
We need about six more regional refineries to keep fuel costs really low. Even two would be nice. One new refinery anyone.
I’m not sure how all this tariff money is noted and collected, but I have visions of accountants going completely berserk trying to keep up.
Good. Then businesses can pressure their governments to get rid of these stupid tariff taxes and achieve 0% rates for both sides.
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https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/us-oil-imports-by-country
regional refineries
ARTICLE OF INTEREST
Regional Refineries
.
1. Jet fuel takes largest share of 2024 US refinery output
by Oliver Kleinschmidt, Assistant Editor
Hydrocarbon Engineering
Tuesday, 25 March 2025 11:00
https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/petrochemicals/25032025/jet-fuel-takes-largest-share-of-2024-us-refinery-output/
2. U.S. Refiners Face New Challenges in 2025
By Charles Kennedy
oilprice.com
Jan 13, 2025, 9:30 AM CST
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Refiners-Face-New-Challenges-in-2025.html
3. Will Any New Refineries Be Built in the United States?
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth
IER - [INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY RESEARCH]
June 13, 2022
https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/fossil-fuels/gas-and-oil/will-any-new-refineries-be-built-in-the-united-states/
4. The US Hasn’t Built a Major Oil Refinery in Nearly 50 Years. Here’s Why
Thomas Catenacci
INSIGHTS GLOBAL
June 1, 2022
https://www.insights-global.com/the-us-hasnt-built-a-major-oil-refinery-in-nearly-50-years-heres-why/
Someone should tell Rand Paul that Trump is more about free trade than he is.
“This is how the Reciprocal Tariff gambit works. Trump threatens to apply tariffs equal to those placed on American goods, and the other side would prefer no tariffs on either side. Total win for America.”
Would be wonderful!
American farmer are suffering especially under heavy Fed regulation
He opposes Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs strategy.
ROFL I would hate to see what losing looks likw.
What does he propose in the alternative?
Not yet a total win. It’s still contingent on a vote from some other branch of government. Later on they might pull out the “we just couldn’t get it passed” excuse.
AFAIK he hasn’t.
As I understand, while it is true that we have not built any “new” refineries, many of the old refineries have greatly expanded, which does make sense. Much like converting old power plants to nuclear as much of the energy infrastructure would exist at these sites
As much as I like Rand Paul, I confess I don’t understand his position here. There is no “free” trade if everyone else has tariffs on our goods.
Canada has made great hay on reciprocal tariffs to Trumps threats of tariffs, yet remain silent on the fact that they already have plenty of existing tariffs in out goods, and there lies the problem.
Good for me but not for thee.
Simple Canada/world drop your tariffs, invest in US and there you go Rand, free trade.
In the whole world, America has few friends, Israel is one. The rest you can count on the fingers of your two hands: Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Argentina, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines.
getting movement towards real free trade....
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