Trump throws cold water on Canada trade talks

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on a possible trade deal with Canada on Wednesday, saying he turned down a requested meeting with Canada's prime minister over NAFTA disputes.

Justin Trudeau's "tariffs are too high, and he doesn’t seem to want to move, and I’ve told him about it,” Trump said during a lengthy press conference in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

"Canada has treated us very badly. They've treated our farmers in Wisconsin, New York state and a lot of other states very badly," he said.

The comments come as the U.S. and Canada seek to an impasse in talks aimed at renegotiating a free trade deal that also includes Mexico. The U.S. and Mexico separately reached a new agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement in late August, a copy of which is expected to be released as early as Friday, according to CNBC.

The Trump administration is hurrying to meet a self-imposed Oct. 1 deadline to reach a trilateral agreement, but Trump cast doubt on whether Washington and Ottawa would be able to come to mutually acceptable terms.

“We’re not getting along at all with their negotiators,” Trump said, referring to Canada and later appearing to make specific mention of Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Trump again said the U.S. is continuing to weigh a possible tariff on all auto imports coming from Canada.

“Frankly, we’re thinking about just taxing cars that are coming in from Canada. That’s the mother lode. That’s the big one,” he said.