Which only reduces the trade deficit by 16%. And it would take many, many years to replace our current fleet of gasoline-powered vehicles.
the desert could be turned into productive farm land,
The productive farm land in the desert is being turned into subdivisions. Sorry, additional fresh water would be be used to directly support more people, not more crops.
"And it would take many, many years "
That is the problem, our overall plan and economy only looks at what can happen for the next short term profit report , or next election cycle to see if viable.
If it took a decade to put men on the moon, we could replace all liquid fuels with hydrogen using nuclear power to distill sea water if there was a will and a 10 year or longer plan too, tax breaks for corporations who go along, and citizens . We are spending more money and time in the middle east for the same ends, we could convert to hydrogen at a fraction of the cost that is now spent for guarding tankers to ship past Iran, and the economy in turn would benefit,
Its really a winning proposition, but agreed the problem cant be done on a quarterly basis which is the essence of how our economy works, there would have to be governmental leadership, as well as irrigation in the desert for food using the power, its all solvable, this is not a technical problem but a bureaucratic one.