"Huggable lamb that I am, people tell me I'm a tough negotiator, " he says.

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"Huggable lamb that I am, people tell me I'm a tough negotiator, " he jests.

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Mr Alkatiri has proved a tough negotiator with his neighbours on this issue.

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That said, Mr. Fehr showed his mettle as a tough negotiator in that the players ended up retaining far more perks than I ever believed they would.

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Like Mr. Buffett, Mr. Jain is viewed a tough negotiator who is willing to let a deal go if he can't get the price he wants, as illustrated by his approach to Transatlantic.

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Fehr is a tough and wily negotiator who brought baseball players untold riches.

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But he is also a tough and shrewd negotiator.

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Robert Novick, a senior US trade negotiator, recounts that the Japanese sat back and left the Americans to play the tough cops.

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Earlier this week, an e-mail dropped into my lap from Saudi Arabia's chief climate negotiator Mohammed Al-Sabban, a veteran of the process with a reputation for being a tough operator.

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