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March 21, 2001

Oil Imports Climbed to a Record in January

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ASHINGTON, March 20 — The United States trade deficit widened slightly, to $33.3 billion, in January as dependence on foreign oil pushed imports of energy products to a record high, government figures showed today.

The Commerce Department said that January's deficit was up 0.2 percent from a December imbalance of $33.2 billion. Both figures were close to the record high of $33.5 billion set last September.

For all of 2000, the annual deficit climbed to a record $368.9 billion, 39.2 percent higher than the previous year.

The deficit with China soared in January, rising 19.3 percent, to $7.2 billion, while the deficit with Japan narrowed slightly, to $5.9 billion, the lowest in 13 months.

Over all, the worsening deficit was led by a big jump in petroleum imports, which climbed 11 percent, to a record $8.2 billion.

President Bush, who is pushing for a broad overhaul of energy policy including increased drilling on federal lands, said today that he thought the long-term outlook for the economy remained strong despite some "short-term problems."

Mr. Bush is asking Congress for the authority to negotiate new free- trade agreements, including one covering the Western Hemisphere. This negotiating authority, which the administration has renamed from "fast track" to "trade promotion" authority, expired in 1994.

Congress refused former President Bill Clinton's request for a renewal because of objections to his efforts to include labor and environmental standards in new trade deals.

For January, exports rose 0.5 percent, to $89.7 billion. This small gain reflected increases in shipments of farm products, including animal feed, soybeans, meat and poultry, and greater exports of industrial machinery, computer chips, telecommunications equipment and computer accessories.

These gains offset declines in overseas sales of American autos and industrial supplies.

Imports rose 0.4 percent, to $122.9 billion. The increase in petroleum reflected a rise in volume. The average price for a barrel of crude oil declined in January to $23.13 a barrel, the lowest in 13 months.

Other import categories showing big increases included consumer goods, a category that takes in clothing, which rose 5.7 percent, to a record $24.5 billion, and foreign autos and auto parts, which were up 1.6 percent, to $15.4 billion.

America's deficit with Canada, its largest trading partner, rose 0.7 percent, to a record $5.8 billion in January, while the deficit with Mexico was up 6.9 percent, to $2.1 billion.

Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/21/business/21TRAD.html?pagewanted=print

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 21, 2001