By Spencer England
The real trade deficit (million 2012 $) increased from $81,558 in February to $82,054 in March. The March observation was between the January and February data points so it was not large enough to generate a significant change in imports 0.58 percentage point contribution to first-quarter real GDP growth. In the first-quarter real GDP report, the significant contribution of foreign trade to real GDP growth has been interpreted by the administration as a sign of success with its trade policies. But the underlying real import and export data suggest that it is