*EPF307 05/26/2004
U.S. Trade Deficit Increases in March to Record $46 Billion
(Imports and exports both rise) (990)

By Berta Gomez
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. trade deficit increased in March to a record $46 billion, up from a revised February deficit of $42 billion, as the value of imports rose more sharply than that of exports, the Department of Commerce reports.

In a May 12 news release, the department calculated the March deficit at a seasonally adjusted $45.96 billion, comprising a goods deficit of $51.2 billion and a services surplus of $5.3 billion.

Exports and imports both set records, reflecting improvements in economic performance both in the United States and in U.S. trading partners.

Imports in March increased to $140.6 billion, up from $134 billion in February. The figure reflected a rise in imports of consumer goods such as electronics and apparel, which rose from $28.7 billion in February to $31.3 billion in March.

The value of U.S. crude oil imports grew from $8.4 billion in February to $10.1 billion in March, reflecting both increased quantity and higher prices. According to Commerce, the average price per barrel of crude oil rose from $29.17 in February to $30.64 in March, the highest level since February 1983.

Overall U.S. exports increased as well, to $94.7 billion in March from $92.3 billion in February, for the second consecutive monthly rise. Exports of industrial supplies rose to $16.9 billion from $15.9 billion over the same period.

The U.S. goods deficit with China widened to $10.4 billion from $8.3 billion in February as imports from that nation rose to $13.8 billion. The goods deficit with the European Union rose to $9.3 billion from $7.3 billion.

Other large U.S. trade deficits in March included those with Japan, $6.7 billion; Mexico, $3.8 billion; Germany, $4.0 billion; Canada, $5.1 billion; and Korea, $1.4 billion.

Following are some key figures:

U.S. GOODS AND SERVICES EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND TRADE BALANCE
Millions of dollars, on a balance of payments basis, seasonally adjusted

Trade
balance Exports Imports

Jan.-Dec. 2002 -418,038 974,107 1,392,145
Jan.-Dec. 2003 -489,911 1,018,720 1,508,632

Jan.-Mar. 2003 -121,548 247,389 368,937
Jan.-Mar. 2004 -131,540 275,815 407,355

March 2003 -42,952 82,639 125,591
March 2004 -45,958 94,702 140,660

U.S. GOODS EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND TRADE BALANCE
Millions of dollars, on a balance of payments basis, seasonally adjusted

Trade
balance Exports Imports

Jan.-Dec. 2002 -482,872 681,874 1,164,746
Jan.-Dec. 2003 -549,156 713,788 1,262,945

Jan.-Mar. 2003 -135,943 173,386 309,329
Jan.-Mar. 2004 -147,226 193,978 341,204

March 2003 -47,482 58,309 105,791
March 2004 -51,237 67,190 118,427

U.S. SERVICES EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND TRADE BALANCE
Millions of dollars, on a balance of payments basis, seasonally adjusted

Trade
balance Exports Imports

Jan.-Dec. 2002 64,834 292,233 227,399
Jan.-Dec. 2003 59,245 304,932 245,687

Jan.-Mar. 2003 14,395 74,003 59,608
Jan.-Mar. 2004 15,686 81,837 66,151

March 2003 4,530 24,330 19,800
March 2004 5,279 27,512 22,233

U.S. GOODS EXPORTS, IMPORTS AND TRADE BALANCE, BY COUNTRY
Millions of dollars, on a Census basis, not seasonally adjusted

Bilateral March March
balance exports imports

Total -49,411 74,221 123,632

North America -8,968 26,896 35,864
Canada -5,105 17,215 22,320
Mexico -3,863 9,680 13,543

Western Europe -10,053 17,101 27,154
Euro Area -7,449 11,741 19,190
European Union -9,287 15,729 25,015
Austria -379 155 534
Belgium 335 1,538 1,203
Finland -203 163 367
France -720 2,112 2,831
Germany -4,024 2,824 6,847
Italy -1,538 952 2,490
Netherlands 1,059 2,090 1,032
Spain -115 608 723
Sweden -952 300 1,252
United Kingdom -857 3,379 4,235
Other EU -1,893 1,609 3,501

European Free Trade
Association -680 925 1,606
Norway -319 149 468
Switzerland -323 760 1,083
Other EFTA -39 16 55
Other Western Eur. -86 447 533

Eastern Europe, Former
Soviet Reps. -1,108 780 1,888
Hungary -166 67 233
Poland -77 64 141
Former Sov. Reps. -691 435 1,127
Russia -566 257 822
Other FSR -126 179 304
Other Eastern Europe -174 214 388

Pacific Rim -19,554 19,586 39,140
Australia 568 1,203 634
China -10,435 3,373 13,808
Japan -6,737 5,142 11,879
Newly Industrialized
Countries -755 7,706 8,460
Hong Kong 691 1,382 691
South Korea -1,412 2,341 3,753
Singapore 762 1,958 1,196
Taiwan -796 2,024 2,820
Other Pacific Rim -2,195 2,164 4,359

South/Cent. America -2,491 5,420 7,912
Argentina -28 247 275
Brazil -203 1,281 1,484
Colombia -129 387 516
Other S/C America -2,132 3,504 5,636

OPEC -5,580 1,822 7,402
Indonesia -671 260 931
Nigeria -1,215 119 1,334
Saudi Arabia -900 505 1,404
Venezuela -1,713 392 2,105
Other OPEC -1,080 546 1,627

Other countries -4,042 3,267 7,309
Egypt 246 348 102
South Africa -286 273 559
Other -4,002 2,647 6,648

NOTE: Data on a Census basis reflect movement of goods into and out of the United States through U.S. Customs Service stations. Balance-of-payments basis data adjust Census data to include products that bypass Customs, such as exports of military aircraft and imports of electricity from Canada.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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