Any fondness between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump has vanished, it became clear Thursday after the Canadian leader brushed off the US president's criticism of Canada's negotiating style in continental trade talks - casting doubts for a quick deal. Trudeau said Trump views the negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as hard "because Canadians are tough negotiators, as we should be."
Those efforts have stalled after a year of talks, despite ramping up in recent weeks after the US and Mexico made a breakthrough on bilateral issues.
According to the negotiators, Canada's insistence on a trade dispute provision and its refusal to open up its protected dairy sector are the last major sticking points.
Ottawa is also seeking assurances that the United States will not, after signing a new NAFTA deal, turn around and hit Canada with punitive auto tariffs. Canada's ambassador to Washington David MacNaughton this week put the chance of concluding an agreement soon at 50/50.
"A good and fair deal is still very possible," Trudeau said. "But we won't sign a bad deal for Canada." On Wednesday in New York, Trump said he refused to meet with Trudeau on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly because Canada was treating the United States "very badly." "I must be honest with you, we're not getting along with their negotiators," Trump said. "We think their negotiators have taken advantage of our country for a long time."
"With Canada, it's very tough," he said, adding that there was "still a chance" of reaching a deal. "I'm not making (a deal that is) anything near what they want to do," the American president added. Trudeau's Liberal government had launched a charm offensive in Trump's early months in office to try to curry favor with the new president.
But their close relationship - once the envy of other foreign leaders - came to a crashing end following a divisive and bad-tempered summit of G7 nations in Canada in June, which saw Trump ramp up his rhetoric against Trudeau. While Trudeau has tried to keep his head down and avoid further antagonizing Trump, he also has stood firm in demanding a fair deal in the trade negotiations.