Will eliminate trade deficit with US, says Netanyahu amid tariff tensions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (local time) announced that Israel would work to eliminate the trade deficit with the US and that too "very quickly" amid the turmoil in the global markets caused by US tariff tensions.

During a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump at The White House, Netanyahu said, "We will eliminate the trade deficit with the United States. We intend to do it very quickly. We think it's the right thing to do and we're going to also eliminate trade barriers," adding that Israel could also serve as a "model for many countries" who ought to do the same.

Netanyahu further expressed gratitude to President Trump for inviting him to the White House and praised him as a "remarkable friend" of Israel, noting that Trump delivers on his commitments. 

"I want to thank you, President for inviting me once again to the White House... You have been a remarkable friend... You are a great champion of our alliance, and you do the things which you say," the Israeli Prime Minister said.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, President Trump confirmed that the US was also engaging in direct talks with Iran for the nuclear deal proposed by the US, emphasising that doing the deal was a "preferable" option than doing the "obvious".

"We're having direct talks with Iran... I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious," Trump added.

Earlier, Trump threatened Iran with "possible bombing" as well as the imposition of secondary tariffs on the Islamic Republic if they do not comply with the nuclear deal proposed by the US.

During a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump said that the US would give Iran a couple of weeks to comply and that stern action would be taken depending on how the deal progresses.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing. It will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before," Trump stated, as quoted by NBC News.

"We have the secondary tariffs on Iran, and we'll probably give it a couple of weeks, and if we don't see any progress, we're going to put them on... But we're going to make a decision on secondary tariffs on Iran based on whether or not they're going to make a (nuclear) deal. If they're going to make a deal, then we're never going to put secondary tariffs on; we're going to hope they have a great, long and successful life as a country," he added.

He also offered a conciliatory note, stating that Iran would take up the deal and that if they don't, things will "not be pretty".

"But we'll see what happens... I can't imagine them doing anything else but making a deal. I would prefer a deal to the other alternative, which I think everybody on this plane knows what that is, and that's not going to be pretty. And I do not prefer that," the US President added.