Mr. Speaker, the good numbers in imports and exports month after month are really a true reflection of the importance of international trade agreements to Canada.
Our latest figures from August showed merchandise trade exports reaching $31.2 billion, up some 12.3% over the same period from last year. Exports to the U.S. were up 3.8%. Exports to Japan were up 4.6%. Our trade surplus of $22.1 billion already exceeds last year's export total of $19.4 billion.
Those numbers reflect the importance of international trade agreements and agreements with other countries.