The Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A big jump in imported oil helped catapult the U.S. trade deficit in March to $43.5 billion, the second-highest level on record.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the trade gap grew by 7.6 percent in March from February's deficit of $40.4 billion.

Although exports went up in March for the third month in a row, imports rose almost five times faster, leading to a bloated trade deficit that was second only to the record deficit of $44.9 billion produced in December.

"Boy, does this country like to buy things," Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors, said.

To combat the trade deficit, the Bush administration says the United States should seek to boost American exports by attacking foreign trade barriers, rather than raising barriers to imports coming into the country.

Trade critics, including labor unions, say the deficit is evidence that President Bush's free-trade policies are not working and are contributing to hefty job losses in manufacturing.

"The gap between this president's policies and the American workers who need jobs is widening by the day," Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said.

In March, imports of goods and services increased by 2.9 percent from the previous month, to $126.3 billion, the second-highest level of imports ever recorded for a month.

Imports of a wide variety of industrial supplies, including crude oil and plastics, rose to a record $28.3 billion in March.

America's bill for imported crude oil hit a record $9.1 billion in March. That reflected an increase in the amount of imported crude oil to 300.7 million barrels of oil in March, from 247.1 million in February. The price of crude oil dipped to $30.27 a barrel in March, from $30.46 in February, which marked a 20-year high.

Although the United States' economy is struggling to get back to full speed, its economic health remains better than many other countries'.

Exports of goods and services grew by 0.6 percent in March from the previous month to $82.8 billion.

Private economists say the weaker dollar, which has lost altitude over the past year, is helping exports at a time of lackluster global demand. Weak growth abroad, however, will continue to challenge exporters, economists say.