When trading with an AI civilization, I often use the "What would make this deal work" button as an easy way to see what the AI would like in exchange for a resource I want.
When the answer is "I don't see how we can make this work", is this a final answer or can I make it work in some way?
Best Answer
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer: Yes, but...
I find that this response means that they firmly dislike you, but they would be willing to accept the trade if you had significantly more to offer them.
For example, when I go for a culture/tourism victory, I want to have an Open Border agreement with everyone for additional tourism per turn. For allies, I can offer Open Border for Open Border, or perhaps for a strategic resource or 2 gold per turn.
Usually for the civilizations I've gone to war with recently that hate me, they will say "I'm sorry, there is no way to make this work" no matter what I offer them. However, if I have a commanding amount of resources (eg 4 luxury resources and over 280 gold per turn) they will usually request this just for Open Borders.