The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Canada posted a merchandise trade surplus of $769-million in July as exports fell for the first time in six months, Statistics Canada said Thursday. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the result, which compared with a surplus of $4.2-billion in June, came ahead of new U.S. tariffs in August and the Canadian countertariffs that come into effect next week. "The July trade figures, while disappointing, are largely a look in the rearview mirror as the trade landscape shifted, again, in the following months," BMO senior economist Shelly Kaushik said in a report. "The new tariffs likely mean net exports will be a drag on growth in the third quarter. Some stability on the tariff front will go a long way in allowing the economy to resume building momentum." Trade tensions increased at the end of August after talks between Canada and the U.S. broke down and new American tariffs were imposed on some $28-billion in Canadian goods, ranging from hockey sticks to honey. Canada has responded with countertariffs on nearly $28-billion worth of U.S. products scheduled to begin on Sept. 8. The July trade surplus came as total exports fell 2.3 per cent to $76.1-billion for the month.