EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič has been in contact with the U.S. administration following a call on Sunday between U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Stressing the sensitivity of those talks, Šefčovič debriefed with EU ambassadors and said the Commission was not expecting to receive one of those letters, two diplomats said.
The contours of a trade agreement are still very much a moving target, the diplomats stressed, with any deal subject to Trump’s blessing to move forward.
Washington gave no indications it would exempt politically sensitive industries such as cars, steel and aluminum or pharmaceuticals, as requested by the EU. France, Italy and Ireland would likely be pleased with exemptions on spirits and aircraft, however.
Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that an executive order would make the extension of the pause official.
Before that announcement came through, the bloc was still operating on the old target of July 8 and was aiming to strike an agreement with Washington — with the EU executive adamant it would work toward a deal by Wednesday.