OTTAWA — The United States ambassador to Canada says Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is “highly respected” by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and his NAFTA negotiating team, in sharp contrast to remarks made by President Donald Trump.Kelly Craft said Freeland has been personally very helpful to her since she arrived last October as Trump’s envoy to Canada, and that Freeland has earned the respect of the U.S. team for her conduct in the negotiations.Craft’s defence of Freeland, who she described as someone who had become a friend, came less than two hours after Trump appeared to blame Freeland personally for the impasse in negotiations to rewrite the North American free trade pact. Trump told a news conference Wednesday evening that he rejected a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau because he doesn’t like Canada’s approach to renegotiating NAFTA, doesn’t like its stance on dairy tariffs, and doesn’t like Canada’s “representative” in the trade talks. Freeland was hand-picked by Trudeau to act as the political lead for Canada’s negotiating team and is the direct counterpart to Lighthizer.“We are very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada. We don’t like their representative very much,” Trump said. Craft responded to the Star’s questions about Trump’s remarks later Wednesday evening, during a reception she hosted at her official embassy residence. While the ambassador said she had not seen the full news conference, she was quick to express admiration and friendship for Freeland. Craft said that she respected her, as did Lighthizer and the U.S. team.She said Freeland was generous with her time when Craft was first posted here, and has explained the complexities of Canada’s supply management system to her.However, Craft also said that Lighthizer and Trump are completely in agreement on the substance ...
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