Trump drafts letter to countries, imposes Wednesday deadline for best offers on trade deals

The Trump administration reportedly plans to tell its trading partners that it wants them to offer their best trade deal by Wednesday.

This was revealed in a draft letter that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) penned to dozens of countries this week, according to Reuters.

As previously reported, the U.S. is currently in a trade war with its usual trading partners. The war was initiated when President Donald Trump announced “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 9th. However, these tariffs have since been delayed until July 8th, giving countries a chance to present a trade deal to the Trump administration.

BREAKING: President Trump demands “best offers” from countries by this Wednesday as tariff deadline approaches. pic.twitter.com/uIzSJnKa7J

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 2, 2025

“In the draft, the U.S. is asking countries to list their best proposals in a number of key areas, including tariff and quota offers for purchase of U.S. industrial and agricultural products and plans to remedy any non-tariff barriers,” Reuters noted.

“Other requested items include any commitments on digital trade and economic security, along with country-specific commitments, according to the letter,” the reporting continued.

According to the draft, the Trump administration will review the proposed trade deals after Wednesday and then offer “a possible landing zone,” i.e., a compromise of some sort.

Reuters also noted that it wasn’t clear which specific countries would receive (or had received) the letter. It was only known that the draft letter was aimed at those countries that already have active negotiations with the Trump administration.

“Productive negotiations with many key trading partners continue at a rapid pace,” a USTR official said. “It is in all parties’ interest to take stock of progress and assess any next steps.”

Meanwhile, Tiffany Smith of the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) celebrated the draft letter.

“We are encouraged that USTR is moving negotiations ahead as quickly as they can,” she told Reuters, adding that successful trade deals will be “a win-win if they are done in a way that returns predictability and stability to trade relationships.”

NFTC has previously lobbied for Congress to have more say regarding tariffs.

NFTC Supports Bipartisan Efforts to Reassert Congressional Authority Over Tariffs

Read our full statement ⬇️https://t.co/hEr9gIqEqK pic.twitter.com/WMPhBopw8X

— NFTC (@NFTC) April 10, 2025

That said, the sending of the letter does come amid a couple of hiccups.

On Friday, President Donald Trump said he wants to raise tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent. This came after he accused China of breaking a deal they made in May during talks in Geneva.

The European Union and European Commission responded to the proposal over the weekend.

“The European Union … warned that it may speed up retaliatory measures if President Donald Trump follows through on his tariff threats, the latest of which includes a 50% levy on steel and aluminum imports,” according to Bloomberg.

“The European Commission, which handles trade matters for the EU, said Monday it ‘strongly’ regrets the tariff hike — up from an originally planned 25% — and said the move is undermining efforts to reach a solution to the trade conflict,” the reporting continued.

BBG: The European Union is preparing for another round of trade talks with the US, but it’s also warning that it may speed up retaliatory measures if President Donald Trump follows through on his latest threat: a 50% levy on steel and aluminum imports#TradeWar pic.twitter.com/5AOC8RiyC3

— Kong Kong Kubs (@3benson) June 3, 2025

The EU’s trade chief, Maros Sefcovic, reportedly plans to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and members of the European Commission in Paris on Wednesday.

“If no mutually acceptable solution is reached, both the existing and possible additional EU counter-measures will automatically take effect on July 14 or earlier if circumstances require,” commission spokesperson Olof Gill told reporters on Monday.

“The commission has been clear at all times about its readiness to act in defense of EU interests, protecting our workers, consumers and industry,”  he added.

At the same time, all of this has been happening, China claimed the U.S. broke the Geneva agreement by adding new export limits on computer chips.

Without any factual ground, the U.S. falsely accuses China of violating the Geneva consensus, and has issued harmful extreme measures against China such as new chip export controls, blocking EDA sales, and pledging to revoke Chinese students’ visas. Those actions have seriously… pic.twitter.com/SNOEn26ytr

— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) June 3, 2025

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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