US Secretary of Commerce Howard Letnick blamed Canada for putting forward additional demands at the end of the negotiations, which led to the breakdown of trade negotiations, and claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney deliberately blocked an agreement that was about to take shape due to political considerations. On Thursday, Letnick accused Carney of stopping the agreement in order to solidify his political support for Alberta's pre-vote in October's independence referendum and the Quebec elections. “We were just being used by them, which is why the negotiations failed. The problem is not the economic conditions; the economic terms of the agreement are very impressive. It was a high-quality agreement that had already been agreed upon orally.” Letnick told reporters in Washington.

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Letnick blamed Canada for putting forward additional demands at the end of the negotiations, which led to the breakdown of trade negotiations, and claimed that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney deliberately blocked an agreement that was about to take shape due to political considerations. On Thursday, Letnick accused Carney of stopping the agreement in order to solidify his political support for Alberta's pre-vote in October's independence referendum and the Quebec elections. “We were just being used by them, which is why the negotiations failed. The problem is not the economic conditions; the economic terms of the agreement are very impressive. It was a high-quality agreement that had already been agreed upon orally.” Letnick told reporters in Washington.