Trudeau defends negotiators after Trump slams Canada

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday defended Canadian negotiators for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after US President Donald Trump cast serious doubt on the fate of NAFTA.

"The Americans are finding that the negotiations are tough because Canadians are tough negotiators, as we should be, but a good and fair deal is still very possible," Trudeau said to reporters on his way to a cabinet meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Thursday morning.

Trump, speaking at a press conference in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, threatened to tax cars imported "if Canada doesn't make a deal with" the United States.

He also said that he was very unhappy with "the negotiations and negotiating style of Canada" and that he had turned down a recent one-on-one meeting with Trudeau in New York.

In response, Trudeau's office released a statement saying that there had been no such request.

Trump's new threat came just four days before the US-imposed deadline of Sept 30 for providing the US Congress with an updated NAFTA text.