Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday some of US President Donald Trump's threats should be viewed as prepositioning ahead of negotiations to renew the free trade pact between the two large trading partners. Carney noted they are entering a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year and said he expects a "robust review".

"The president is a strong negotiator, and some of these comments and positioning should be viewed in the broader context of that," Carney said. Trump threatened this past weekend to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada if America's northern neighbour went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing, something Carney said Canada has no interest in.