Don’t get your hopes up about the trade decifit, according to EPI Economist Robert Scott. There was a minor improvement in the trade deficit in March–but it’s headed to go over $800 billion this year. Wow.

Says Scott: “The slight improvement in the trade deficit in March was largely explained by seasonally adjusted growth in capital goods and industrial materials exports, and a significant fall in petroleum imports (seasonally adjusted). Although the deficit declined slightly in March, it was up 14% over the same period last year, putting the deficit on track to exceed $800 billion in 2006, well in excess of the United States’ $723 billion trade deficit in 2005. There is widespread agreement among official and private sector economists that the U.S. trade deficit, which was 6.3% of GDP in year-to-date 2006, is unsustainable.

And this would not surprise anyone: “…sharp increases in the cost of imported oil are likely to drive up the trade deficit again in April. Unless and until the U.S. adopts policies to spur energy conservation, increase transit ridership and reduce reliance on imported oil, the rising cost of imported oil will continue to drive up the trade deficit.”

My god, I wish I had a dime for each time someone called for the reduction of oil consumption…and nothing happened.