Look, if you ever want to trade with a NPC nation who you're not at war with, they'll accept. So just pay for the trade route and so will they.
Although they may delay paying if they need money right away.
But guys, I've got some bad news. A huge load of things have just been tossed on my schedule, and I don't have the time to update this weekend. I only have a few spare hours, and I need about 4 to do a good update.
Sorry.
But on the plus side, I may be able to update extra for the Christmas season to make up for this.
And Canada is SO an independent country.
And I'm in the Pacific timezone. Due north of B.C., Washington State, Oregon, California, Baja, etc.