THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, November 19, 1994            TAG: 9411190395
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER, ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                         LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

U.S. TRADE DEFICIT SOARS IN SEPT. 1994 IS SHAPING UP TO BE NATION'S 2ND-WORST EVER DEFICIT WITH ASIA A KEY REASON FOR POOR PERFORMANCE

America's trade deficit worsened to $10.13 billion - on track for the second-worst year ever. Negative records in September included the biggest one-month deficit with China and the most barrels of crude oil ever imported.

The Commerce Department said the September deficit was 4.6 percent higher than in August. While imported goods dipped a tiny 0.1 percent from August's record level, U.S. merchandise exports fell more rapidly, by 1.3 percent.

The new report came in a week when President Clinton traveled to Jakarta, Indonesia, to push for expanded U.S. trade opportunities at a second summit meeting with 17 other leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The group pledged to create a Pacific free-trade zone by 2020.

While the administration insists that Asia represents one of the biggest marketing opportunities for American business, Friday's report showed the region also presented the United States with its biggest trade headaches.

The United States ran up $10.08 billion in goods deficits with countries in the region. Leading the way were Japan, with a $5.37 billion imbalance, and China, with a $3.49 billion goods deficit - the second straight month the deficit with China set a record high.

Some analysts worried that Clinton's APEC agreement could divertthe administration from pursuing country-specific negotiations to open markets in Japan and China, the two countries that together account for two-thirds of the total U.S. deficit. ``The APEC agreement for free trade in the Pacific is the equivalent of a balanced-budget amendment. It is a nice goal, but without specific market-opening measures, it will never be accomplished,'' said Lawrence Chimerine, chief economist at the Economic Strategy Institute.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said the September trade figure showed why Congress later this month should defeat a trade liberalization agreement involving 123 nations that was negotiated under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. ILLUSTRATION: Charts

by CNB