Janice Charette, Canada’s top trade negotiator to the United States, is challenging Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s version of events that a last-minute ask by the Canadians on autos caught the Trump administration by surprise and helped doom the deal.
Ever since talks collapsed on Aug. 21, Canadian and American officials have been blaming each other for making too many last-minute requests. Both sides are now jostling for credibility as reliable narrators, while the fallout risks further escalating the trade war.
