"Trade Talks With Canada And Mexico Dissolve In Harsh Words"

"The leading U.S. trade negotiator exchanged unusually sharp words with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts Tuesday, saying he was “disappointed” at their “reluctance to give up unfair advantages.”

In a news conference wrapping up a fourth round of negotiations to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, a combative U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer said the Trump administration was determined to craft a better deal for U.S. companies and reduce a roughly $60 billion trade deficit with Mexico.

“Trade deficits do matter, and we intend to reduce them,” Lighthizer said at a joint news conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland of  Canada and Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal of Mexico."

Steven Mufson reports for the Washington Post October 17, 2017.