WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is frustrated with Canada over trade negotiationsthat have not been going well, White House adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday after the U.S. president cut off trade talks between the two countries.
“I think the frustration has built up over time,” Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House. “The Canadians have been very difficult to negotiate with.”
Asked for specifics, Hassett cited a “lack of flexibility.”
Trump terminated trade talks late on Thursday, citing an advertisement by the province of Ontario that featured Republican icon Ronald Reagan discussing the virtues of free trade.
Trump says all trade talks with Canada are terminated
The U.S. president on Friday accused Canada of trying to influence the Supreme Court as it prepares to consider a challenge to his global tariff agenda.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had removed most of Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by his predecessor, and the two sides have been in talks for weeks on a deal for the steel and aluminum sectors.
“The fact is that the negotiations with the Canadians have not been very collegial,” Hassett said earlier in an interview with Fox News.
“They’ve not been going well. I think the president’s very frustrated. He wants a great deal with Canada, just like he wants a great deal with Mexico.”
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