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John Ivison: The truth about why trade talks broke down has yet to be told

Carney's reputation for candour may take further hits as accounts of how the talks broke down continue to trickle out that don't quite align

Canada’s chief negotiator has pointed out that the U.S. commerce secretary was not at the table when trade talks broke down nearly two weeks ago.

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Howard Lutnick has said that the tariff level on medium- and heavy-duty trucks was not discussed until 4 p.m. on Friday, August 21, just before the Canadian side walked away from talks.

John Ivison: The truth about why trade talks broke down has yet to be told Back to video

Janice Charette’s point was that the truck issue was discussed repeatedly by negotiators in the room, a place where the commerce secretary was noticeable by his absence.

It seems highly likely that Lutnick was trying to repeat the tactic that worked for him over the Gordie Howe bridge negotiations by pushing for more advantageous terms at the 11th hour — in this case, exempting trucks from the tariff reduction on passenger cars. It didn’t work this time.

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