WASHINGTON—The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record high in January as businesses imported more goods to rebuild inventories, potentially setting up trade to remain a drag on economic growth in the first quarter. Though inventory accumulation continues, the pace is cooling, with other data from the Commerce Department on Tuesday showing the increase in wholesale inventories in January was the smallest in six months amid a decline in motor vehicle stocks. The reports support views of significantly slower gross domestic product growth this quarter after a robust performance in the final three months of 2021. “This jump in the trade deficit points to a large drag on GDP growth in accounting terms and real GDP growth in the first quarter looks on track to be close to zero as strong demand gains are met by import growth rather than production increases,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economist at Brean Capital …