Trump’s tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, autos and goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement have upended the status quo. He has threatened to raise some of those tariffs to 35 percent by Aug. 1. Canada sends more than 75 percent of its exports to the U.S.

The US president's remarks come after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled earlier this week that Canada "will not accept a bad deal".

US President Donald Trump said trade talks with Canada are not a focus for his administration right now, and instead of negotiating a deal he may decide to just leave existing import taxes in place.