“Letter means a deal!” President Donald Trump said Tuesday during a Cabinet meeting gaggle that countries—including Serbia—did not receive a threat but direct offers to negotiate a trade deal with the United States. With those words, he confirmed The Pavlovic Today’s scoop that the trade letters sent to countries—including Serbia—weren’t threats, but direct offers to negotiate.

Mainstream coverage painted the letters as hardline ultimatums. But Trump, alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, is operating with a different playbook: a “New York-style” negotiation strategy. And now it’s official—the letters were opening bids, not closing shots.

THE STRATEGY — Why letters, not summits? It comes down to scale. 

“You have to do it in a more general way, but it’s a very good way. It’s a better way. It’s a more powerful way,” Trump explained, citing the logistical impossibility of holding bilateral meetings with 200 countries.

He emphasized that the effort was entrusted to “a few trusted people that know what they’re doing.”

And those tariff numbers? Not as brutal as they sound.

“We’re picking a number that’s lower than, in most cases, lower than what they charged us.”

Expressing surprise at how long the U.S. tolerated unfavorable trade terms, Trump said:

“They get one president that’s a little bit different and a little tougher on this subject, and they’re willing to drop everything they’ve been charging us for years and years.”

President Donald Trump in the Oval Office with Secretary Bessent, Howard Lutnick.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office with Secretary Bessent, Howard Lutnick. [Photo credit: White House via Flickr]

THE OFFER — What’s in the deal? For nations like Serbia, among others, here’s what’s on the table:

“Access to the American market and don’t have to pay any tariff to come in and do business.”

What he wants in return is fairness and reciprocity:

“Now it’s we will give you total access, and you don’t have to pay any tariffs, but please don’t charge us tariffs.”

EU UP NEXT —The European Union is next in line to receive one of Trump’s trade letters.

“We’re probably two days off from sending them a letter,” he revealed, noting that he’s been in direct contact with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“They treated us very badly until recently. Now they’re treating us very nicely. It’s like a different world,” Trump said, before adding: “Actually, in many respects, they were much worse than China. Look at what they do to our companies. They sue Apple, they sue Google…”

THE TONE — It’s tough, but not scorched-earth. Trump says he’s going easy—relatively speaking. The president insists he’s being more than fair:

“We want to have relationships,” Trump said, but pointed out that “relationships were not reciprocal in many instances.”

“I don’t want to hurt them,” he added, signaling that he and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are motivated to close mutually beneficial deals.

“I could have done much harsher,” Trump noted, referring to tariff rates he chose not to impose.

BRICS BLOCK? BRACED FOR IMPACT — Trump reserved strong words for countries joining the BRICS bloc—such as India and Brazil—warning that they would face a 10% surcharge:

“Because BRICS was set up to hurt us,” Trump said bluntly, characterizing the alliance’s goals as an effort to “destroy” the dollar.

“A real threat” from day one, he added.

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Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pavlovic Today. Credentialed at the White House, the U.S. Senate Press Gallery and the State Department. Pavlovic was a Teaching Fellow and Doctoral Fellow in the Political...