As many as 26,000 Israelis stand to lose their jobs if US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new economic policy, under which Israeli goods face a 17 percent tariff, remains unchanged, the Manufacturers Association of Israel warned on Sunday, hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Washington.

While Israel had hoped to avoid Trump’s sweeping decree last week to impose levies on global imports, it was nevertheless hit with a 17% tariff despite lifting all remaining duties on US imports in a last-minute attempt to be spared.

According to an analysis published by the association and presented to Netanyahu, Israeli exports will take an annual $2.3 billion hit from the tariffs if they remain at 17%, and between 18,000 and 26,000 Israelis could lose their jobs.

In addition, the association warned that should Trump expand the tariffs to include the pharmaceutical and chip industries, which the sweeping edict has yet to touch, the damage to Israeli exports could reach an annual $3 billion.

The areas that are expected to be hit hardest, it said, were hi-tech, including biotech, plastic, metals, chemicals and fuels, robotics and electronic components.

The US is Israel’s single largest trade partner, and in 2024, it imported more than $13.5 billion worth of goods from Israel.

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