THIS SECTION IS FOR NEWS AND INTERESTING STORIES RELATED TO FOOD, NUTRITION AND FOOD PROCESSING. THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO KOSHER BUT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE KOSHER CONSUMER, MANUFACTURER OR MASHGIACH.
April 3, 2025 from World Israel News:
"Despite Israel dropping all remaining tariffs on US goods, Trump administration imposes across the board 17% tariffs on all Israeli goods, accusing Israel of 'stealing a lot of intellectual property.'
"Israel was slapped with a sweeping 17% tariff, despite a last-minute decision by the Israeli government to drop all remaining tariffs on American goods.
"Ahead of Trump’s address at the signing ceremony, an administration official explained to reporters why the White House was imposing elevated tariffs on Israel, accusing the Jewish state of intellectual property violations. 'Israel steals a lot of intellectua' property from, for example, the pharmaceutical manufacturers in this country,” the official said."
April 1, 2025 from Times of Israel:
"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 administration.
"srael 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.
"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.
"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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