BUSINESS MEMO: TRADE DEVICIT WIDENS

America's trade deficit widened to a record $30.2 billion in March as the nation's bill for foreign crude oil hit an all-time high, helping swamp a strong rebound in U.S. exports.

The Clinton administration sought to minimize the bad news, but opponents of the China deal pointed to the widening deficit as evidence President Clinton's trade policies are not working.

The Commerce Department report showed the deficit for March was 5.1 percent higher than a revised February imbalance of $28.7 billion.