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Trump's Top Trade Chief Reveals the Mysterious Two-Word Demand Holding a Massive EU Deal Hostage

Published on July 28, 2025 at 09:49 AM
Trump's Top Trade Chief Reveals the Mysterious Two-Word Demand Holding a Massive EU Deal Hostage

In a bombshell revelation that has sent shockwaves through Brussels, a top official in the Trump administration has laid out the president's mysterious condition for ending a high-stakes trade standoff with the European Union. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick declared that the path to a deal hinges on a simple, yet maddeningly vague, offer: it just has to be "good enough."

The stunning comment places immense pressure on the 27-member bloc as it navigates treacherous trade negotiations with Washington. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Lutnick put the ball squarely in the EU's court, suggesting President Donald Trump is open to a deal but remains unconvinced.

"The question is, do they offer President Trump a good enough deal that is worth it for him to step off of the 30% tariffs that he set," Lutnick stated, directly referencing the punishing "reciprocal" tariffs imposed by the administration. His message was clear: the EU must significantly open its markets to U.S. goods if it wants relief.

However, the ambiguity of what constitutes a "good enough" offer has left diplomats and analysts scrambling. Lutnick's remarks, made after he spoke at the Pennsylvania Energy And Innovation Summit, provided no concrete metrics, leaving the United States' largest trading partner to guess what might satisfy the White House. Underscoring the uncertainty, the Commerce Secretary reiterated that he believes there's only a 50-50 chance that a comprehensive agreement can be reached.

The timing of this revelation could not be more critical. President Trump is slated to hold crucial trade talks with the president of the European Commission in the coming days. That meeting is now framed as a make-or-break moment where the EU must present an offer that somehow meets this undefined threshold.

With billions in transatlantic trade hanging in the balance, the global economy watches with bated breath. The fate of the US-EU economic relationship now appears to rest not on detailed policy points, but on the EU's ability to decipher the two-word riddle that could unlock a deal—or cause negotiations to collapse entirely.