US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods imported from Canada if his northern neighbour goes ahead with its China trade deal.

In a social media post on Saturday Mr Trump said that if Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney “thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘drop-off port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken.”

It was unclear when Mr Trump might impose the tariff. He said in the post it would happen “immediately” if Canada made a deal with China — which Mr Carney did a week earlier, drawing initial praise from the president.

The White House did not offer any further details.

Canada’s minister responsible for trade with the US Dominic LeBlanc said Canada and China had resolved “several important trade issues” but there was no pursuit of a free-trade agreement.

During his recent speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Trump insulted Canadians by insisting their country only “lives because of the US.” 

Mr Carney hit back: “Canada doesn’t live because of the US: Canada thrives because we are Canadian.”

Mr Trump later revoked his invitation to Mr Carney to join the president’s so-called Board of Peace, which many commentators believe is being formed to undermine the United Nations.