Trade negotiations between Canada and the United States have broken down, with each side blaming the other for the collapse of talks that both had appeared optimistic about only days earlier.
US Trade Representative Jameson Greer said Canada had decided to walk away from the negotiating table, framing the failure as a choice made by the Canadian side.
Canada's Prime Minister offered a sharply different account. In a statement, he said the two sides had made important progress, but that it was not enough to reach a deal.
The Prime Minister said the United States had proposed last-minute changes that he described as unfair and uneconomic, and that called into question the reliability of any agreement that might have resulted.
Following the breakdown, he directed Canada's negotiators to return to Ottawa, effectively pausing the process after the two governments failed to close the gap.
Greer, by contrast, blamed Canada for the failure, saying its negotiators had made new demands and walked back others during the discussions.
The sudden collapse caught observers off guard. According to CBC News, sources were shocked by the outcome, having known the talks were going down to the wire but expecting, just days earlier, that a deal could still be reached. It remains unclear exactly what prompted the breakdown.