U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade czar went on a Canadian news network Wednesday to dispute Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertions about why negotiations between the two countries fell apart.

United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CBC News that the U.S. did not make last-minute demands to Canadians in the eleventh hour of negotiations on Friday.

New York Times and Bloomberg reported that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick inserted himself into negotiations and communicated with Carney multiple times before talks dissolved. Lutnick was also a key figure behind the delayed opening and changed agreement around the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan.

Trump on Tuesday was asked by CNN whether the U.S. made changes in the final hours of trade talks and responded, “That sounds like me.”

Greer said that the president was just speaking “off the cuff.”

Greer said the U.S. offered Canada the best deal possible but when they got down to talking about what the text would look like his Canadian colleagues had what he described as “concerns.”

“It would have been a springboard for future progress for us, and now that’s gone away,” Greer said.

Tensions between the two countries have continued to worsen since trade negotiations crumbled. The Trump administration slammed Canada with 50 per cent tariffs on an array of goods the following day.

Carney on Saturday said an agreement became untenable, accusing U.S. negotiators of attempting to restrict Canada’s ability to have other trade deals and restricting Canada’s protections of language and culture.

Greer told CBC’s Rosemary Barton that Carney’s characterization around trade deal demands “goes far beyond anything we’ve discussed.”

He said discussions were around building a strong North American market, where Canada would be expected to protect its borders by raising tariffs so its market wasn’t flooded by goods from other countries.

Around Carney’s claims over language, Greer said he and the president recognize the sensitivity of the French language in Canada.

While the U.S. negotiators had questions over the Online Streaming Act and a Quebec’s Bill 109, around French discoverability on streaming sites, Greer said it was the “farthest thing from the redline.”

“Our view is, there is no way we would let a good deal go by for something like this,” Greer said.

The federal government unveiled its response to Trump’s latest duties Tuesday, which includes upping tariffs on American steel and aluminum products from 25 to 50 per cent.

The government will also impose tariffs ranging from 15 to 50 per cent on hundreds of other U.S. exports, including clothing and apparel, appliances, dairy products and seafood.

Greer said if there is further Canadian retaliation the Trump administration is not going to sit down and take it.

He said there are currently no open channels with Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, adding the two have a good relationship.

The Trump administration has fanned across cable news stations in the United States to make the case for the latest Canadian tariffs. But Greer’s appearance on CBC News was the first direct appeal to Canadians,

Earlier Wednesday, Trump repeated inaccurate claims about Canadian tariffs, supply-managed dairy system and the automobile industry to justify his own duties.

“It’s time to teach Canada that you can’t do this anymore,” Trump said in an interview with conservative talk show host Glenn Beck on Wednesday.

The president also pointed to his post about changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America. Trump compared it to an executive order he signed to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America last year.

“Now we have a gulf and we have a lake, OK,” Trump said. “You know, it’s very simple.”

When asked about Trump’s comments during an unrelated event in Alberta later Wednesday, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the federal government always takes note of what Trump says.

“That being said we are in a position of strength and in these circumstances will continue to fight because Canada is worth fighting for,” Joly told reporters in Calgary.

Trump’s senior counsellor Peter Navarro told C-Span Wednesday that Carney was the worst thing that happened to Canada and was leading the country into the “toilet.”

“This deal blew up for only one reason, politics across our border,” Navarro said.

Navarro called Ontario Premier Doug Ford Carney’s German shepherd and said he’s egging the prime minister on. Trump and Ford had a heated war of words earlier this week.

Navarro has long been critical of Canada and free trade in general. He agrees with Trump that trade deficits with other countries are always a problem.

The United States trade deficit with Canada is largely linked to the purchase of energy and oil.

Speaking directly to Canadians, Navarro said “you can’t encourage Carney and especially Doug Ford to dump on the United States when we are trying our best to have a fair deal with you all.”

“And you’re just, you’re just playing politics with somebody in a country which is far stronger economically than you are,” he said. “And it just is not going to end well for Canada.”

The post Trump’s trade czar says U.S. didn’t make last-minute trade demands appeared first on INsauga | Ontario Local News Network.

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