EU did not receive US letter demanding best offer in trade talks -source

By Julia Payne

The European Union did not receive a letter from the United States in which President Donald Trump's administration made a demand for countries to submit their best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the talks.

Following a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Trump restored a July 9 deadline to allow for talks between Washington and Brussels to continue.

It was not immediately clear whether the letter, a draft seen by Reuters, had yet been sent to negotiating partners.

A European Commission spokesperson declined to provide details about documents and offers exchanged between the EU and the US in their trade talks.

"What we can say is that following the recent call between Presidents von der Leyen and Trump, both sides agreed to accelerate the pace of talks," the spokesperson said, pointing to talks this week with the technical teams in Washington and an upcoming meeting between EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic and U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer in Paris.