Canadian and American trade negotiators were starting to put ideas about a potential agreement on paper before U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly ended trade talks last week, Canada’s ambassador in Washington says.

“We were trying to work out the contours of what a first step in an agreement between Canada and the United States could look like,” Ambassador Kirsten Hillman told the Senate foreign affairs committee on Wednesday.

“We were exchanging views on that and we were putting those views on paper.”

Trump abruptly called off negotiations in a late-night social media post last Thursday over an advertisement by the Ontario government that uses former U.S. president Ronald Reagan's own words to send an anti-tariff message to American audiences. WATCH | Ambassador explains trade deal

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