Order Code RL33274
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Updated July 22, 2008
James K. Jackson
Specialist in International Trade and Finance
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade DivisionFebruary 5, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL33274
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Summary
The U.S. merchandise trade deficit is a part of the overall U.S. balance of
payments, a summary
statement of all economic transactions between the residents
of the United States and the rest of
the world, during a given period of time. Some
Members of Congress and other observers have
grown concerned over the magnitude
of the growing U.S. merchandise trade deficit and the associated
increase in U.S.
dollar-denominated assets owned by foreigners. The current slowdown in global
economic activity has reduced global trade flows and, consequently, reduced the size of the U.S.
trade deficit. This report provides an overview
of the U.S. balance of payments, an explanation of
the broader role of capital flows
in the U.S. economy, an explanation of how the country finances
its trade deficit or
a trade surplus, and the implications for Congress and the country of the large inflows
inflows of capital from abroad. The major observations indicate that:
!•
Foreign official and private investors sharply increased their purchases of U.S.
Treasury securities in 2007 as they also increased their purchases of
U.S. corporate stocks and bonds. At the same time, foreign official
purchases of U.S. Treasury securities rose slowly in 2007 as foreign
governments curtailed their purchases of such securities.
!2008 in response to uncertainty associated with disruptions
in global financial markets. During the same period, foreign private investors
sharply reduced their purchases of U.S. corporate stocks and bonds compared
with 2007.
•
The inflow of capital from abroad supplements domestic sources of
capital and
likely allows the United States to maintain its current
level of economic activity
at interest rates that are below the level
they likely would be without the capital
inflows.
!•
Foreign official and private acquisitions of dollar-denominated
assets likely will
generate a stream of returns to overseas investors
that would have stayed in the
U.S. economy and supplemented other
domestic sources of capital had the assets
not been acquired by
foreign investors.
This report will be updated as events warrant.
Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Capital Flows and the Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The U.S. Balance of Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The U.S. Net International Investment Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
List of Figures
Figure 1. Foreign Private and Official Purchases of U.S. Treasury Securities,
1997-2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 2. Net Inflows of Private and Official Sources of Capital,
1997-2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 3. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States,
1994-2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 4. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component,
2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
List of Tables
Table 1. Selected Indicators of the Size of the Global Capital Markets, 2006 . . . 2
Table 2. U.S. International Transactions, Selected Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Table 3. Summary of the Net Balances by Major Accounts in the U.S. Balance of
Payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Table 4. Net Foreign Purchases of Long-Term U.S. Securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Table 5. U.S. Net International Investment Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Background
By standard convention, the balance of payments accounts are based on a
double-entry bookkeeping system. As a result, each transaction that is entered into
the accounts as a credit must have a corresponding debit and vice versa. This means
that a surplus or deficit in one part of the accounts necessarily will be offset by a
deficit or surplus, respectively, in another account so that, overall, the accounts are
in balance. This convention also means that a deficit in one account, such as the
merchandise trade account, is not necessarily the same as a debt.1 The trade deficit
can become a debt equivalent depending on how the deficit is financed and the
expectations of those who hold the offsetting dollar-denominated U.S. assets. The
balance of payments accounts are divided into three main sections: the current
account, which includes the exports and imports of goods and services and personal
and government transfer payments; the capital account, which includes such capital
transfers as international debt forgiveness; and the financial account, which includes
official transactions in financial assets and private transactions in financial assets and
direct investment in businesses and real estate.
When the basic structure of the balance of payments was established,
merchandise trade transactions dominated the accounts. Financial transactions
recorded in the capital accounts generally reflected the payments and receipts of
funds that corresponded to the importing and exporting of goods and services. As
a result, the capital accounts generally represented “accommodating” transactions,
or financial transactions associated directly with the buying and selling of goods and
services. During this early period, exchange rates between currencies were fixed, and
private capital flows, such as foreign investment, were heavily regulated so that
nearly all international flows of funds were associated with merchandise trade
transactions and with some limited government transactions.
Since the 1970s, however, private capital flows have grown markedly as
countries have liberalized their rules governing overseas investing and as nations
have adopted a system of floating exchange rates, where the rates are set by market
forces. Floating exchange rates have spurred demand for the dollar. The dollar also
is sought for investment purposes as it has become a vehicle itself for investment and
speculation. This means that the balance of payments record not only the
accommodating flows of capital which correspond to imports and exports of goods
and services, but also autonomous flows of capital that are induced by a broad range
of economic factors that are unrelated directly to the trading of merchandise goods.
1
For additional information about the causes of the U.S. trade deficit, see CRS Report
RL31032, The U.S. Trade Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures, by Craig Elwell.
CRS-2
Capital Flows and the Dollar
Liberalized capital flows and floating exchange rates have greatly expanded the
amount of autonomous capital flows between countries. These capital transactions
are undertaken in response to commercial incentives or political considerations that
are independent of the overall balance of payments or of particular accounts. As a
result of these transactions, national economies have become more closely linked, the
process some refer to as “globalization.” The data in Table 1 provide selected
indicators of the relative sizes of the various capital markets in various countries and
regions and the relative importance of international foreign exchange markets. In
2006, these markets amounted to nearly $600 trillion, or more than 30 times the size
of the U.S. economy. Worldwide, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives,
which are the most widely used hedges against movements in currencies, were valued
at $396 trillion in 2006, 50% larger than the combined total of all public and private
bonds, equities, and bank assets. For the United States, such derivatives total three
as much as all U.S. bonds, equities, and bank assets.
Table 1. Selected Indicators of the Size of the Global Capital
Markets, 2006
in billions of U.S. dollars
Gross
Total
Domestic Official
Product Reserves
(GDP)
World
European
Union
Euro Area
United
States
Japan
Emerging
Market
Countries
Bonds, Equities, and Bank Assets
Total
Stock
Debt
Market Securities
Capitalization
Bank
Assets
Exchange Market Derivatives
Total
OTC
OTC
Foreign Interest
Exchange Rate
DerivDerivatives
atives
48,434.4 5,091.5 194,452.7 50,826.6 68,200.9 74,465.2 395,557.0 48,620.0 211,970.0
13,658.0
10,586.1
252.7 73,983.7 13,068.8 23,192.3 37,736.3
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
157.5 54,129.5 8,419.1 18,761.1 26,719.2 145,903.0 18,280.0 81,442.0
13,194.7
4,377.1
54.9 56,822.0 19,569.0 27,050.1 10,202.9 154,799.0 40.488.0 74,441.0
879.7 20,109.5 4,795.8 8,723.7 6,590.0 58,329.0 10,579.0 25,605.0
14,262.9 1,932.0 30,984.4 11,692.4
6,072.7 13,219.4
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
Source: Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund, April 2008. Statistical
Appendix, Table 3. Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, March 2008, Tables 20b
and 21b. Total derivatives does not include equity and commodity-linked derivatives.
Another aspect of capital mobility and capital inflows is the impact such capital
flows have on the international exchange value of the dollar. Demand for U.S.
assets, such as financial securities, translates into demand for the dollar, since U.S.
securities are denominated in dollars. As demand for the dollar rises or falls
according to overall demand for dollar-denominated assets, the value of the dollar
changes. These exchange rate changes, in turn, have secondary effects on the prices
of U.S. and foreign goods, which tend to alter the U.S. trade balance. At times,
foreign governments have intervened in international capital markets to acquire the
dollar directly or to acquire Treasury securities in order to strengthen the value of the
CRS-3
dollar against particular currencies. In addition, various central banks moved
aggressively following the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s to bolster their holdings
of dollars in order to use the dollars to support their currencies should the need arise.
Furthermore, the dollar is heavily traded in financial markets around the globe
and, at times, plays the role of a global currency. Disruptions in this role have
important implications for the United States and for the smooth functioning of the
international financial system. This prominent role means that the exchange value
of the dollar often acts as a mechanism for transmitting economic and political news
and events across national borders. While such a role helps facilitate a broad range
of international economic and financial activities, it also means that the dollar’s
exchange value can vary greatly on a daily or weekly basis as it is buffeted by
international events. A triennial survey of the world’s leading central banks
conducted by the Bank for International Settlements in April 2007 indicates that the
daily trading of foreign currencies through traditional foreign exchange markets2
totals more than $3.2 trillion, up sharply from the $1.9 trillion reported in the
previous survey conducted in 2004. In addition to the traditional foreign exchange
market, the over-the-counter (OTC)3 foreign exchange derivatives market reported
that daily turnover of interest rate and non-traditional foreign exchange derivatives
contracts reached $2.1 trillion in April 2007. The combined amount of $5.3 trillion
for daily foreign exchange trading in the traditional and OTC markets is more than
three times the annual amount of U.S. exports of goods and services. The data also
indicate that 86.3% of the global foreign exchange turnover is in U.S. dollars, slightly
lower than the 88.7% share reported in a similar survey conducted in 2004.4
The U.S. Balance of Payments
Table 2 presents a summary of the major accounts in the U.S. balance of
payments over the last six quarters. The data indicate that in 2007 and the first
quarter of 2008 the U.S. current account, or the balance of exports and imports of
goods, services and transfers, was in deficit, or the United States imported more than
it exported. According to the accounts, the United States experienced a deficit in the
merchandise trade goods accounts in all four quarters in 2007 and the first quarter of
2008 and a surplus in the services accounts during those five quarters. In the income
accounts, which represent inflows of income on U.S. assets abroad relative to
2
Traditional foreign exchange markets are organized exchanges which trade primarily in
foreign exchange futures and options contracts where the terms and condition of the
contracts are standardized.
3
The over-the-counter foreign exchange derivatives market is an informal market consisting
of dealers who custom-tailor agreements to meet the specific needs regarding maturity,
payments intervals or other terms that allow the contracts to meet specific requirements for
risk.
4
Triennial Central Bank Survey: Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity in
2007. Bank for International Settlement, September 2007. pp. 1-2. A copy of the report
is available at:[http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx07.pdf]
CRS-4
outflows of income earned on U.S. assets owned by foreigners, the net balance of the
accounts was in surplus in all four quarters of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008.
Table 2. U.S. International Transactions, Selected Accounts
(in billions of U.S. dollars)
2006
Current account
Balance on current account
Balance on goods and services
Balance on goods
Exports
Imports
Balance on services
Exports
Imports
Balance on income
Income Receipts
Income Payments
Unilateral current transfers
Capital account
Capital account transactions
Financial account
Balance on financial account
U.S.-owned assets abroad, net
U.S. official reserve assets, net
U.S. Government assets, net
U.S. private assets, net
Foreign-owned assets in the U.S.
Foreign official assets, net
U.S. Treasury Securities
Foreign private assets, net
U.S. Treasury Securities
Financial derivatives
Statistical discrepancy
2007
-788
-731
-753
-700
-838
-819
1,023 1,148
-1,861 -1,968
85
119
434
497
-349
-378
57
82
685
818
-628
-736
-82
-113
2007
II
I
III
IV
2008
I
-197
-180
-203
270
-474
24
115
-91
13
187
-174
-30
-194
-179
-206
279
-485
27
120
-93
10
202
-192
-25
-173
-168
-201
295
-497
33
129
-96
23
214
-191
28
-167
-174
-209
303
-512
35
132
-97
36
215
-179
30
-176
-175
-211
318
-529
36
136
-100
30
199
-170
-31
-2
-1
-0
-1
-1
-1
839
774
-1,252 -1,290
2
-0
5
-22
-1,259 -1,267
2,061 2,058
488
411
209
59
1,573 1,647
-58
157
30
6
-47
-41
265
-442
-0
0
-442
693
163
40
529
43
15
-68
194
-524
0
-1
-523
718
89
2
629
-14
-1
1
102
-170
-0
1
-171
266
13
-26
253
67
6
72
213
-154
-0
-23
-131
380
145
43
235
60
-13
-46
124
-287
-0
3
-290
411
174
89
237
69
0
53
-4
Source: Sauers, Renee M., and Kristy L. Howell, U.S. International Transactions: First Quarter of
2008. Survey of Current Business, July, 2008. P. 67.
The data also indicate that the U.S. financial accounts were in substantial
surplus, because they represent the opposite and offsetting transactions to deficits in
the current account. Indeed, the accounting of the balance of payments is such that
the surplus in the financial accounts is equivalent to the deficit in the combined
balance in the capital account, the statistical discrepancy, and the balance on the
current account. The balance in the financial accounts represents the difference
between the capital outflows associated with U.S. investments abroad, which are
recorded as a negative value, and the capital inflows associated with foreign
investment in the United States, which are recorded as a positive value. This
investment is a combination of both private and official investments, or investments
by private individuals and institutions and investments by governments and
governmental institutions, respectively. Data for 2007 indicate that foreign official
purchases of U.S. Treasury securities were down substantially from similar purchases
in 2006 and private foreign purchases of Treasury securities in 2007 rose sharply
CRS-5
from the negative amount recorded for 2006. Data for first quarter of 2008, however,
show a strong increase in foreign official purchases of U.S. Treasury securities, while
foreign private purchases of U.S. Treasury securities increased slightly over the
previous quarter.
The data in Table 2 also indicate that private capital flows account for the
largest share of both U.S. capital inflows and outflows. Another way of viewing the
data is presented in Table 3 which shows the net amount of the flows in the major
accounts, or the difference between the inflows and outflows. In 2007, for instance,
total net capital inflows representing the net balance on the current account, the
capital account, and the statistical discrepancy, were a negative $774 billion,
markedly less than the record deficit of $839 set in 2006. This decrease in the overall
net capital inflows occurred in part because of a slight decrease in the deficit in trade
in manufactured goods and an increase in the surplus in trade in services.
Table 3. Summary of the Net Balances by Major Accounts in the
U.S. Balance of Payments
(in billions of U.S. dollars)
Total Net Capital Inflows
Total Net Goods
Total Net Services
Total Net Income
Total Net Transfers
Total Net Capital Account
Statistical Discrepancy
Total Net Financial Account
Total Net Official
Total Net Private
Direct Investment
Portfolio Investment
Other Private (Banks)
Financial Derivatives
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
$-477 $-416 $-570 $-546 $-585 $-777 $-839 $-774
-452 -427 -483 -548 -665 -787 -838 -819
74
64
61
51
48
73
85
119
21
24
7
33
30
48
57
82
-56
-47
-59
-67
-81
-89
-92 -113
-1
-1
-1
-3
-2
-4
-4
-2
-63
-29
-95
-12
85
-18
-47
-41
477
416
570
546
585
777
839
774
42
23
111
251
399
279
496
389
436
393
460
295
186
498
314
379
162
25
-62 -134 -145
117
1
-96
268
295
402
292
374
386
260
442
6
74
120
137
-43
-4
53
33
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
30
6
Source: Data developed by CRS from data published by the Department of Commerce.
Commerce Department data indicate that foreign private purchases of Treasury
securities turned negative between 1998 and 2001 as foreign private investors
experienced net sales of Treasury securities, as indicated in Figure 1. By 2002,
foreign private investors returned to acquiring Treasury securities, but the amount
they acquired remained relatively level at $100 billion per year from 2002 to 2005.
In contrast, foreign official net acquisitions of Treasury securities trended slightly
upward between 2000 and 2002, but such net acquisitions more than doubled over
the 2002 to 2004 period, rising to $261 billion in 2004. In 2005, though, official
purchases of Treasury securities plummeted to less than $100 billion and were less
than private purchases. In 2006, private foreign investors again reduced their net
holdings of Treasury securities. This action was offset by a large increase in
acquisitions of Treasury securities by foreign governments, directed at least in part
to slow the decline in the international exchange value of the dollar. In 2007,
CRS-6
however, foreign private investors accumulated more than $157 billion in Treasury
securities, as foreign governments sharply reduced their net purchases of Treasury
securities from$209 billion in 2006 to $59 billion in 2007.
Figure 1. Foreign Private and Official Purchases of U.S. Treasury
Securities, 1997-2007
Billions of dollars
$300
$250
Official
$200
$150
$100
Private
$50
$0
-$50
-$100
1997
1998
1999 2000
2001
2002 2003
2004
2005 2006
2007
Source: Department of Commerce
The deficit in the net capital inflow account was financed by an offsetting net
inflow in the financial account. One striking feature of the financial flows is the
recent change in the composition of the balances in the net financial account. Except
for 2004, total net private inflows were greater than total net official inflows. This
trend was reversed in 2004, when net official inflows were nearly double that of the
net private inflows, as indicated in Figure 2. In 2006 and 2007, net official inflows
exceeded net private inflows. In 2007, foreign private inflows of capital increased
by more than 2%, but similar private outflows by U.S. citizens increased by more
than 11%, so that the overall net private flows fell in 2007, or were sightly more than
half of those received in 2005. The decline in net private inflows in 2007 reflects a
higher level of U.S. direct investment abroad, rising to over $335 billion in 2007,
from $241 billion in 2006, which is entered into the balance of payments accounts
as a negative amount and lower holdings of foreign assets by U.S. banks. Data for
2007 also indicate that the United States again experienced a net positive income
inflow from U.S. assets held abroad as U.S. investors received more in income on
their investments held abroad than foreign investors received from their investments
in the United States.
CRS-7
Figure 2. Net Inflows of Private and Official Sources of Capital, 19972007
Billions of dollars
$600
$500
Private
$400
$300
$200
$100
Official
$0
-$100
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Source: Department of Commerce
The data in Table 4 show the total net accumulation of U.S. securities, or the
amount of securities purchased less those that were sold, by foreign private and
official sources from 2000-2007. The data indicate that in 2007, the net
accumulation of U.S. securities fell in 2007 from the amount recorded in 2006,
largely due to reduced official purchases of U.S. Treasury securities and corporate
stocks. Private foreign investors operating in Asia and through financial centers in
the Caribbean increased their net purchases of corporate stocks, while European
investors sharply reduced their net accumulations of corporate bonds, which
experienced a 40% drop in the net accumulation of such securities. In addition,
foreign investors, both private and official reduced their net accumulation of other
U.S. government agency bonds.
Table 4. Net Foreign Purchases of Long-Term U.S. Securities
(in billions of dollars)
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Total private and official
net purchases of U.S.
$437.3 $430.3 $428.3 $520.5 $767.8 $875.7 $982.5 $807.4
securities
Total private purchases
394.6
370.7
361.7
311.7
455.6
598.3
542.5
528.4
Corporate stocks
Europe
United Kingdom
Canada
Caribbean financial
centers
192.5
181.6
71.8
7.7
-20.7
119.5
86.8
37.3
11.7
-5.8
56.1
31.5
14.4
12.9
-17.1
34.3
22.1
0.2
11.5
-2.3
59.5
35.3
28.9
3.9
3.1
88.3
44.0
24.2
21.0
14.8
142.8
94.2
74.8
12.8
34.3
183.4
91.6
68.8
9.3
47.4
CRS-8
Latin America
Asia
Of which: Japan
Africa
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
3.5
6.8
0.8
0.5
-0.4
-0.4
1.9
1.3
20.0
20.2
23.0
2.8
5.5
8.7
-1.1
29.1
1.9
6.6
12.2
-2.3
4.9
-0.1
-0.8
-5.1
0.4
-0.4
-0.1
0.2
-0.1
0.3
0.1
-0.3
Corporate bonds
Europe
United Kingdom
Canada
Caribbean financial
centers
Latin America
Asia
Japan
Africa
Other
166.4
111.7
95.2
3.0
25.0
191.6
108.4
84.1
3.3
49.6
145.4
78.9
55.8
-0.0
35.5
223.2
130.9
89.0
5.2
54.0
254.6
126.3
69.6
6.0
47.1
312.3
199.8
144.7
1.9
40.2
412.3
242.1
192.4
7.9
91.1
246.7
111.2
121.4
12.6
41.4
4.3
21.4
15.6
0.1
0.9
5.0
24.2
6.1
0.3
0.9
4.6
22.7
10.8
0.1
3.6
6.7
24.2
10.5
0.4
1.7
20.2
51.9
33.5
0.6
2.6
7.3
54.4
25.6
0.6
8.1
9.3
53.9
12.3
0.2
7.7
4.6
71.1
38.5
-0.4
6.2
U.S. Treasury bonds
Europe
Canada
Caribbean financial
centers
Latin America
Asia
Africa
Other
-65.3
-54.9
2.1
-5.1
-23.2
-30.2
0.2
1.0
78.4
38.7
-5.0
14.8
91.0
18.1
11.4
6.2
74.1
38.2
16.3
22.1
147.9
65.2
21.8
44.9
-49.5
-37.8
14.7
-10.6
136.5
153.4
-2.9
3.8
-1.2
-7.2
-0.0
1.1
-3.3
8.1
0.0
1.0
3.1
22.3
1.1
3.6
3.0
46.4
-0.2
6.1
-3.4
1.0
0.7
-0.8
10.4
1.3
1.7
2.5
5.5
-20.3
1.1
-2.1
24.5
-42.8
1.5
-1.1
Federal agency bonds
Europe
United Kingdom
Canada
Caribbean financial
centers
Latin America
Asia
Japan
Africa
Other
101.0
36.8
28.5
7.6
17.5
82.8
29.6
33.4
-0.7
6.4
81.8
4.7
22.4
-1.9
23.2
-36.8
-29.4
14.6
-4.0
6.0
67.4
13.3
31.4
5.0
11.3
49.8
-11.9
-1.3
12.1
3.0
36.9
11.6
13.6
9.6
29.8
-38.2
53.0
81.0
2.2
-21.9
5.7
33.0
21.3
0.1
0.3
4.6
45.3
12.6
0.2
-2.6
7.5
49.3
16.8
0.3
-1.2
4.9
-11.9
-16.4
0.2
-2.7
1.8
36.4
16.5
-0.1
-0.3
7.1
40.2
15.6
-0.3
-0.4
3.4
-17.7
-5.4
-0.2
0.5
1.9
-73.7
-22.4
-0.1
0.3
Total official purchases
U.S. Treasury bonds
Other U.S. Government
securities
Corporate bonds
Corporate stocks
42.8
-1.3
40.9
59.6
32.9
20.9
66.5
32.4
30.5
208.7
163.5
39.9
312.2
256.8
41.7
277.4
156.9
100.5
440.0
214.1
191.6
279.0
30.3
182.0
2.0
1.1
3.8
2.0
5.6
-2.0
5.6
-0.3
11.5
2.2
19.1
1.0
28.6
5.8
51.6
15.1
Source: Sauers, Renee, and Kristy L. Howell, U.S. International Transactions: First Quarter of 2008.
Survey of Current Business, July 2008. Table 8a.
CRS-9
The U.S. Net International Investment Position
As indicated above, the data in Tables 2 and 3 show that the trade deficit is
accompanied by an equal capital inflow that represents an accumulation of dollardenominated assets by foreigners. Some observers have equated the trade deficit and
the associated accumulation of foreign-owned dollar-denominated assets as a debt
that the U.S. economy owes to foreigners that will have to be repaid. This
characterization, however, is not entirely appropriate. The debts owned by foreign
investors represents claims on assets, rather than loans where payments on the
principle and interest are specified according to a fixed schedule and where failure
to meet the repayment schedule can result in the loans being called in and made
payable in full. While foreign investors have expectations of a positive return on
their dollar-denominated assets, returns, except for Treasury securities, are not
guaranteed, but are subject to market forces. An important feature of claims by
foreign investors on U.S. assets is that some or all of the profits or returns on the
assets can be repatriated to the home country of the foreign investor, thereby reducing
the returns that would otherwise remain in the U.S. economy.
According to the most commonly accepted approach to the balance of payments,
macroeconomic developments in the U.S. economy are the major driving forces
behind the magnitudes of capital flows, because the macroeconomic factors
determine the overall demand for and supply of capital in the economy. Economists
generally conclude that the rise in capital inflows can be attributed to comparatively
favorable returns on investments in the United States when adjusted for risk, a
surplus of saving in other areas of the world, the well-developed U.S. financial
system, and the overall stability of the U.S. economy. In turn, these net capital
inflows (inflows net of outflows) bridge the gap in the United States between the
amount of credit demanded and the domestic supply of funds, likely keeping U.S.
interest rates below the level they would have reached without the foreign capital.
These capital inflows also allow the United States to spend beyond its means,
including financing its trade deficit, because foreigners are willing to lend to the
United States in the form of exchanging goods, represented by U.S. imports, for such
U.S. assets as stocks, bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, and real estate and U.S.
businesses.
While this exchange of assets is implicit in the balance of payments, the
Department of Commerce explicitly accounts for this broad flow of dollardenominated assets through the nation’s net international investment position. The
U.S. net international investment position represents the accumulated value of U.S.owned assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the United States measured on an
annual basis at the end of the calendar year. Some observers refer to the net of this
investment position (or the difference between the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad
and the value of foreign-owned assets in the United States) as a debt, or indicate that
the United States is a net debtor nation, because the value of foreign-owned assets
in the United States is greater than the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad.
In fact, the nation’s net international investment position is not a measure of the
nation’s indebtedness similar to the debt borrowed by some developing countries, but
it is simply an accounting of assets. By year-end 2007, the latest year for which data
CRS-10
are available, the overseas assets of U.S. residents totaled $17.1 trillion, while
foreigners had acquired about $20 trillion in assets in the United States, with direct
investment measured at historical cost. As a result, the U.S. net international
investment position was about a negative $2.6 trillion, with direct investment
measured at historical cost, as indicated in Table 5.
Table 5. U.S. Net International Investment Position
(in billions of dollars)
Type of Investment
2004
Net international investment position of the United States:
With direct investment at current cost
-2,245.4
With direct investment at market value
-2,355.8
With direct investment at historical cost
-2,470.7
Financial derivatives
U.S.-owned assets abroad:
With direct investment at current cost
9,340.6
With direct investment at market value
10,204.6
With direct investment at historical cost
8,893.3
Financial derivatives
U.S. official reserve assets
189.6
U.S. Government assets, other
83.1
U.S. private assets:
With direct investment at current cost
9,068.0
With direct investment at market value
9,932.3
With direct investment at historical cost
8,620.7
Direct investment abroad:
— At current cost
2,498.5
— At market value
3,362.8
— At historical cost
2,051.2
Foreign securities
3,545.4
Bonds
985.0
Corporate stocks
2,560.4
U.S. claims by US nonbanking concerns
793.6
U.S. claims reported by US banks
2,230.5
Foreign-owned assets in the United States:
With direct investment at current cost
With direct investment at market value
With direct investment at historical cost
Financial derivatives
Foreign official assets in the United States
Foreign private assets:
With direct investment at current cost
With direct investment at market value
With direct investment at historical cost
Direct investment in the United States:
— At current cost
— At market value
— At historical cost
U.S. Treasury securities
U.S. other securities
— Corporate and other bonds
— Corporate stocks
2005
2006
2007
-1,925.1
-1,850.9
-2,129.9
57.9
-2,225.8
-1,849.3
-2,399.4
59.8
-2,441.8
-1,727.5
-2,653.6
83.5
11,961.6
12,947.8
11,445.3
1,190.0
188.0
77.5
14,381.3
15,900.0
13,900.0
1,239.0
219.9
72.2
17,640.0
19,455.1
17,098.4
2,284.6
277.2
94.5
10,506.0
11,492.2
9,989.7
12,850.3
14,368.9
12,369.0
14,983.7
16,798.8
14,442.1
2,651.7
3,638.0
2,135.5
4,329.3
1,011.6
3,317.7
1,018.5
2,506.5
2,936.0
4,454.6
2,454.7
5,604.5
1,275.5
4,329.0
1,163.1
3,146.7
3,332.8
5,148.0
2,791.3
6,648.7
1,478.1
5,170.6
1,176.0
3,826.2
2,011.9
13,886.7
14,798.7
13,575.2
1,132.1
2,306.3
16,607.1
17,749.2
16,299.4
1,179.2
2,825.6
20,081.8
21,182.6
19,752.0
2,201.1
3,357.0
9,574.2
10,548.8
9,352.2
10,448.3
11,360.3
10,136.8
12,602.3
13,744.4
12,294.6
14,543.7
15,644.5
14,214.0
1,742.7
2,717.4
1,520.7
561.6
3,995.5
2,035.1
1,960.3
1,906.0
2,818.0
1,594.5
643.8
4,353.0
2,243.1
2,109.9
2,151.6
3,293.7
1,843.9
567.9
5,372.4
2,824.9
2,547.5
2,422.8
3,523.6
2,093.0
734.8
6,132.4
3,299.3
2,833.1
11,586.1
12,560.7
11,364.1
CRS-11
Type of Investment
2004
2005
2006
2007
U.S. currency
272.0
280.4
282.6
272.0
U.S. liabilities by U.S. nonbanking concerns
600.2
658.2
797.5
959.5
U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks
2,402.2
2,606.9
3,430.3
4,022.2
Source: Nguyen, Elena L., The International Investment Position of the United States at Yearend
2007, Survey of Current Business, July 2008. p. 9.
Foreign investors who acquire U.S. assets do so at their own risk and accept the
returns accordingly, unlike the debt owed by developing countries where principle
and debt service payments are guaranteed in advance. While foreign investors likely
expect positive returns from their dollar-denominated assets, the returns on most of
the assets in the international investment position, except for bonds, are not
guaranteed and foreign investors stand to gain or lose on them similar to the way U.S.
domestic investors gain or lose.
As Table 5 indicates, the investments in the international investment position
include such financial assets as corporate stocks and bonds, government securities,
and direct investment5 in businesses and real estate. The value of these assets,
measured on an annual basis, can change as a result of purchases and sales of new or
existing assets; changes in the financial value of the assets that arise through
appreciation, depreciation, or inflation; changes in the market values of stocks and
bonds; or changes in the value of currencies. The Department of Commerce also
uses three different methods for valuing direct investments that yield roughly
comparable estimates for the net position, although the three methods do provide
estimates on U.S. direct investment abroad and foreign direct investment that can be
considerably different at times.6
The foreign investment position in the United States continues to increase as
foreigners acquire additional U.S. assets and as the value of existing assets
appreciates. These assets are broadly divided into official and private investments
reflecting transactions by governments among themselves and transactions among
the public. While the foreign official share of the overall amount of capital inflows
has grown sharply as indicated in Table 3, the overall foreign official share of
foreign-owned assets in the United States has remained relatively modest.
As Figure 3 indicates, official asset holdings were valued at about $3.4 trillion
in 2007, or about 17% of the total foreign investment position, a share that has
remained relatively stable over the 13-year period of 1993 to 2007. Official assets
5
The United States defines foreign direct investment as the ownership or control, directly
or indirectly, by one foreign person (individual, branch, partnership, association,
government, etc.) of 10% or more of the voting securities of an incorporated U.S. business
enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated U.S. business enterprise. 15 CFR
§ 806.15 (a)(1). Similarly, the United States defines direct investment abroad as the
ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by one person (individual, branch, partnership,
association, government, etc.) of 10% or more of the voting securities of an incorporated
business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated business enterprise. 15
CFR § 806.15 (a)(1).
6
For additional information, see CRS Report RL32964, The United States as a Net Debtor
Nation: Overview of the Net International Investment Position, by James K. Jackson.
CRS-12
include such monetary reserve assets as gold, the reserve position with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), and holdings of foreign currency. An important
component of foreign official holdings in the United States is the acquisitions of U.S.
Treasury securities by foreign governments. At times, such acquisitions are used by
foreign governments, either through coordinated actions or by themselves, to affect
the foreign exchange price of the dollar. Foreign currency holdings account for a
relatively small share of the total foreign investment position.7
Figure 3. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the
United States, 1994-2007
Trillions of dollars
$16
$14
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$2
$0
1994
1996
1998
2000
Foreign official assets
2002
2004
2006
Foreign private assets
Source: Department of Commerce
Private asset holdings are comprised primarily of direct investment in businesses
and real estate, purchases of publicly traded government securities, and corporate
stocks and bonds. As indicated in Figure 4, the composition of U.S. assets abroad
and foreign-owned assets in the United States differ in a number of ways. The
strength and uniqueness of the U.S. Treasury securities markets make these assets
sought after by both official and private foreign investors, whereas U.S. investors
hold few foreign government securities. As a result, foreign official assets in the
United States far outweigh U.S. official assets abroad. Both foreign private and
official investors have been drawn at times to U.S. government securities as a safe
haven investment during troubled or unsettled economic conditions.
7
For additional information, see CRS Report RL32462, Foreign Investment in U.S.
Securities, by James K. Jackson.
CRS-13
Figure 4. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major
Component, 2007
US Assets
Foreign Assets
Total = $17.1 trillion
Total = $19.8 trillion
Official assets
Direct invest.
Govt. securities
Bonds
Stocks
Nonbanks
US banks
$5
$4
$3
$2
$1
$0
Trillions
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
Trillions
Source: Department of Commerce
Implications
The persistent U.S. trade deficit raises concerns in Congress and elsewhere
because of the potential risks such deficits may pose for the long term rate of growth
for the economy. In particular, some observers are concerned that foreigners will
become saturated with dollar-denominated assets and will become unwilling to
accommodate the trade deficit by holding more dollar-denominated assets. The shift
in 2004 in the balance of payments toward a larger share of assets being acquired by
official sources generated speculation that foreign private investors had indeed
reached the point where they were no longer willing to add more dollar-denominated
assets to their portfolios. This shift was reversed in 2005, however, as foreign private
investments rebounded.
Another concern is with the outflow of profits that arise from the dollardenominated assets owned by foreign investors. This outflow stems from the profits
or interest generated by the assets and represent a clear outflow of capital from the
economy that otherwise would not occur if the assets were owned by U.S. investors.
These capital outflows represent the most tangible cost to the economy of the present
mix of economic policies in which foreign capital inflows are needed to fill the gap
between the demand for capital in the economy and the domestic supply of capital.
CRS-14
Indeed, as the data presented indicate, it is important to consider the underlying
cause of the trade deficit. According to the most commonly accepted economic
approach, in a world with floating exchange rates and the free flow of large amounts
dollars in the world economy and international access to dollar-denominated assets,
macroeconomic developments, particularly the demand for and supply of credit in the
economy, are the driving forces behind the movements in the dollar’s international
exchange rate and, therefore, the price of exports and imports in the economy. As
a result, according to this approach, the trade deficit is a reflection of macroeconomic
conditions within the domestic economy and an attempt to address the issue of the
trade deficit without addressing the underlying macroeconomic factors in the
economy likely would prove to be of limited effectiveness.
In addition, the nation’s net international investment position indicates that the
largest share of U.S. assets owned by foreigners is held by private investors who
acquired the assets for any number of reasons. As a result, the United States is not
in debt to foreign investors or to foreign governments similar to some developing
countries that run into balance of payments problems, because the United States has
not borrowed to finance its trade deficit. Instead the United States has traded assets
with foreign investors who are prepared to gain or lose on their investments in the
same way private U.S. investors can gain or lose. It is certainly possible that foreign
investors, whether they are private or official, could eventually decide to limit their
continued acquisition of dollar-denominated assets or even reduce the size of their
holdings, but there is no firm evidence that such presently is the case. foreign investors.
Congressional Research Service
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Contents
Background ................................................................................................................................1
Capital Flows and the Dollar .......................................................................................................1
The U.S. Balance of Payments ....................................................................................................3
The U.S. Net International Investment Position ...........................................................................9
Implications .............................................................................................................................. 14
Figures
Figure 1. Foreign Private and Official Purchases of U.S. Treasury Securities, 1997-2008.............6
Figure 2. Net Inflows of Private and Official Sources of Capital, 1997-2008................................7
Figure 3. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States, 19942008 ...................................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 4. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component, 2008............................ 14
Tables
Table 1. Selected Indicators of the Size of the Global Capital Markets, 2008 ...............................2
Table 2. U.S. International Transactions, Selected Accounts ........................................................4
Table 3. Summary of the Net Balances by Major Accounts in the U.S. Balance of
Payments .................................................................................................................................5
Table 4. Net Foreign Purchases of Long-Term U.S. Securities .....................................................8
Table 5. U.S. Net International Investment Position................................................................... 10
Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 15
Congressional Research Service
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Background
By standard convention, the balance of payments accounts are based on a double-entry
bookkeeping system. As a result, each transaction that is entered into the accounts as a credit must
have a corresponding debit and vice versa. This means that a surplus or deficit in one part of the
accounts necessarily will be offset by a deficit or surplus, respectively, in another account so that,
overall, the accounts are in balance. This convention also means that a deficit in one account,
such as the merchandise trade account, is not necessarily the same as a debt.1 The trade deficit can
become a debt equivalent depending on how the deficit is financed and the expectations of those
who hold the offsetting dollar-denominated U.S. assets. The balance of payments accounts are
divided into three main sections: the current account, which includes the exports and imports of
goods and services and personal and government transfer payments; the capital account, which
includes such capital transfers as international debt forgiveness; and the financial account, which
includes official transactions in financial assets and private transactions in financial assets and
direct investment in businesses and real estate.
When the basic structure of the balance of payments was established, merchandise trade
transactions dominated the accounts. Financial transactions recorded in the capital accounts
generally reflected the payments and receipts of funds that corresponded to the importing and
exporting of goods and services. As a result, the capital accounts generally represented
“accommodating” transactions, or financial transactions associated directly with the buying and
selling of goods and services. During this early period, exchange rates between currencies were
fixed, and private capital flows, such as foreign investment, were heavily regulated so that nearly
all international flows of funds were associated with merchandise trade transactions and with
some limited government transactions.
Since the 1970s, however, private capital flows have grown markedly as countries have
liberalized their rules governing overseas investing and as nations have adopted a system of
floating exchange rates, where the rates are set by market forces. Floating exchange rates have
spurred demand for the dollar. The dollar also is sought for investment purposes as it has become
a vehicle itself for investment and speculation. This means that the balance of payments record
not only the accommodating flows of capital which correspond to imports and exports of goods
and services, but also autonomous flows of capital that are induced by a broad range of economic
factors that are unrelated directly to the trading of merchandise goods.
Capital Flows and the Dollar
Liberalized capital flows and floating exchange rates have greatly expanded the amount of
autonomous capital flows between countries. These capital transactions are undertaken in
response to commercial incentives or political considerations that are independent of the overall
balance of payments or of particular accounts. As a result of these transactions, national
economies have become more closely linked, the process some refer to as “globalization.” The
data in Table 1 provide selected indicators of the relative sizes of the various capital markets in
various countries and regions and the relative importance of international foreign exchange
1
For additional information about the causes of the U.S. trade deficit, see CRS Report RL31032, The U.S. Trade
Deficit: Causes, Consequences, and Cures, by Craig K. Elwell.
Congressional Research Service
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
markets. In 2008, these markets amounted to nearly $700 trillion, or more than 30 times the size
of the U.S. economy. Worldwide, foreign exchange and interest rate derivatives, which are the
most widely used hedges against movements in currencies, were valued at $486 trillion in 2008,
50% larger than the combined total of all public and private bonds, equities, and bank assets. For
the United States, such derivatives total nearly three times as much as all U.S. bonds, equities,
and bank assets.
Table 1. Selected Indicators of the Size of the Global Capital Markets, 2008
(in billions of U.S. dollars)
Exchange Market Derivatives
Bonds, Equities, and Bank Assets
Gross
Domestic
Product
(GDP)
Total
Official
Reserves
World
60,917.3
6,787.8
European
Union
17,037.4
Euro
Area
United
States
Japan
Emerging
markets
Stock
Market
Capitalization
Debt
Securities
214,424.0
33,513.1
278.4
46,802.4
13,538.4
167.7
14,441.4
OTC
Foreign
Exchange
Derivatives
OTC
Interest
Rate
Derivatives
Bank
Assets
Total
83,529.6
97,381.4
485,973.0
48,775.0
437,198.0
7,262.8
29,137.0
46,802.4
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
32,510.8
4,984.7
23,793.3
32,510.8
160,646.0
20,653.0
160,646.0
66.6
56,391.8
11,737.6
30,657.7
13,996.5
194,904.0
40,737.0
154,167.0
4,910.7
1,009.4
24,714.4
3,209.0
11,478.4
10,027.0
68,889.0
11,438.0
57,451.o
20,605.9
4,286.8
34,394.2
8,558.9
7,815.4
18,020.0
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
Total
Source: Global Financial Stability Report, International Monetary Fund, December 2009. Statistical Appendix, Table
3. Quarterly Review, Bank for International Settlements, December 2009, Tables 20b and 21b. Total derivatives
does not include equity and commodity-linked derivatives.
Another aspect of capital mobility and capital inflows is the impact such capital flows have on the
international exchange value of the dollar. Demand for U.S. assets, such as financial securities,
translates into demand for the dollar, since U.S. securities are denominated in dollars. As demand
for the dollar rises or falls according to overall demand for dollar-denominated assets, the value
of the dollar changes. These exchange rate changes, in turn, have secondary effects on the prices
of U.S. and foreign goods, which tend to alter the U.S. trade balance. At times, foreign
governments have intervened in international capital markets to acquire the dollar directly or to
acquire Treasury securities in order to strengthen the value of the dollar against particular
currencies. In addition, various central banks moved aggressively following the Asian financial
crisis in the 1990s to bolster their holdings of dollars in order to use the dollars to support their
currencies should the need arise.
The dollar is also heavily traded in financial markets around the globe and, at times, plays the role
of a global currency. Disruptions in this role have important implications for the United States
and for the smooth functioning of the international financial system. During the decade preceding
the current financial crisis, banks and other financial institutions expanded their global balance
sheets from $10 trillion in 2000 to $34 trillion in 2007. These assets were comprised primarily of
dollar-denominated claims on non-bank entities, including retail and corporate lending, loans to
hedge funds, and holdings of structured finance products based on U.S. mortgages and other
underlying assets. As the crisis unfolded, the short-term dollar funding markets served as a major
Congressional Research Service
2
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
conduit through which financial distress was transmitted across financial markets and national
borders, according to analysts with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).2 When these
short-term dollar funding markets collapsed in the early stages of the crises, the U.S. Federal
Reserve had to engage in extraordinary measures, including a vast system of currency swap
arrangements with central banks around the world, to supply nearly $300 billion. After initially
expanding the then-existing reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) with the European
Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, and the Bank of Japan, the Federal
Reserve made an unprecedented announcement in October 2008 that it would provide swap lines
to “accommodate whatever quantity of U.S. dollar funding is necessary” to stem the dollar
shortage. 3 At the same time, the U.S. Treasury announced a money market guarantee program to
stop the withdrawal of funds from the money markets and to offset the withdrawals by providing
public funds.
The prominent role of the dollar means that the exchange value of the dollar often acts as a
mechanism for transmitting economic and political news and events across national borders.
While such a role helps facilitate a broad range of international economic and financial activities,
it also means that the dollar’s exchange value can vary greatly on a daily or weekly basis as it is
buffeted by international events. A triennial survey of the world’s leading central banks conducted
by the Bank for International Settlements in April 2007 indicates that the daily trading of foreign
currencies through traditional foreign exchange markets4 totals more than $3.2 trillion, up sharply
from the $1.9 trillion reported in the previous survey conducted in 2004. In addition to the
traditional foreign exchange market, the over-the-counter (OTC)5 foreign exchange derivatives
market reported that daily turnover of interest rate and non-traditional foreign exchange
derivatives contracts reached $2.1 trillion in April 2007. The combined amount of $5.3 trillion for
daily foreign exchange trading in the traditional and OTC markets is more than three times the
annual amount of U.S. exports of goods and services. The data also indicate that 86.3% of the
global foreign exchange turnover is in U.S. dollars, slightly lower than the 88.7% share reported
in a similar survey conducted in 2004.6
The U.S. Balance of Payments
Table 2 presents a summary of the major accounts in the U.S. balance of payments over the last
seven quarters. The data indicate that in 2008 and in the first three quarters of 2009 the U.S.
current account, or the balance of exports and imports of goods, services and transfers, was in
deficit, or the United States imported more than it exported. On a quarterly basis, the deficit in the
current account declined from the second quarter of 2008 through the second quarter of 2009,
2
McGuire, Patrick, and Gotz von Peter, The US Dollar Shortage in Global Banking and the International Policy
Response, BIS Working Paper No. 291, the Bank For International Settlements, October 2009; McGuire, Patrick, and
Goetz von Peter, The U.S. Dollar Shortage in Global Banking, BIS Quarterly Review, March 2009.
3
Ibid., p. 76.
4
Traditional foreign exchange markets are organized exchanges which trade primarily in foreign exchange futures and
options contracts where the terms and condition of the contracts are standardized.
5
The over-the-counter foreign exchange derivatives market is an informal market consisting of dealers who customtailor agreements to meet the specific needs regarding maturity, payments intervals or other terms that allow the
contracts to meet specific requirements for risk.
6
Triennial Central Bank Survey: Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity in 2007. Bank for International
Settlement, September 2007. pp. 1-2. A copy of the report is available at:http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx07.pdf
Congressional Research Service
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
reflecting the slowdown in global trade. According to the accounts, the United States continued
experiencing deficits in the merchandise trade goods accounts in all four quarters in 2008 and in
the first three quarter of 2009 and a surplus in the services accounts during those seven quarters.
In the income accounts, which represent inflows of income on U.S. assets abroad relative to
outflows of income earned on U.S. assets owned by foreigners, the net balance of the accounts
was in surplus throughout the period.
Table 2. U.S. International Transactions, Selected Accounts
(in billions of U.S. dollars)
2008
2008
I
2009
II
III
IV
I
II
III
Current account
Balance on current account
-706
-179
-188
-184
-155
-104
-98
-108
Balance on goods and services
-696
-183
-183
-186
-144
-92
-81
-97
Balance on goods
-840
-219
-221
-221
-179
-124
-115
-132
Exports
1,277
316
333
338
291
249
245
284
Imports
-2,117
-534
-554
-559
-469
-373
-362
-396
Balance on services
144
36
39
35
34
32
34
35
Exports
550
136
140
140
134
123
125
129
Imports
-405
-00
-102
-105
-99
-91
-91
-94
Balance on income
118
37
26
34
21
18
17
24
Income Receipts
765
203
199
195
168
135
135
140
Income Payments
-646
-166
-173
-161
-148
-117
-118
-117
Unilateral current transfers
-128
-33
-31
-32
-32
-30
-33
-34
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
505
167
107
143
88
35
63
38
0
-252
107
29
115
95
37
-294
-5
0
-1
0
-3
-1
-4
-49
-530
3
-42
-226
-265
244
194
58
534
-254
150
255
383
-148
-153
-303
Foreign-owned assets in the U.S.
534
428
2
118
-12
-68
15
332
Foreign official assets, net
487
209
179
116
-16
71
124
124
U.S. Treasury Securities
478
106
76
116
179
118
124
124
Foreign private assets, net
47
217
-177
2
4
-139
-110
209
U.S. Treasury Securities
197
16
19
80
81
54
-23
-9
Financial derivatives
-29
-8
-2
-4
-15
8
11
0
Statistical discrepancy
200
13
81
38
67
70
35
70
Capital account
Capital account transactions
Financial account
Balance on financial account
U.S.-owned assets abroad, net
U.S. official reserve assets, net
U.S. Government assets, net
U.S. private assets, net
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Source: Weinberg, Douglas B., U.S. International Transactions: Third Quarter of 2009. Survey of Current
Business, January, 2010. P. 18.
The data also indicate that the U.S. financial accounts were in surplus throughout the period,
because they represent the opposite and offsetting transactions to the deficits in the current
account. Indeed, the accounting of the balance of payments is such that the surplus in the
financial accounts is equivalent to the deficit in the combined balance in the capital account, the
statistical discrepancy, and the balance on the current account. The balance in the financial
accounts represents the difference between the capital outflows associated with U.S. investments
abroad, which are recorded as a negative value, and the capital inflows associated with foreign
investment in the United States, which are recorded as a positive value. This investment is a
combination of both private and official investments, or investments by private individuals and
institutions and investments by governments and governmental institutions, respectively. Data for
2008 indicate that foreign official purchases of U.S. Treasury securities nearly quadrupled from
similar purchases in 2007 and private foreign purchases of Treasury securities in 2008 more than
doubled from the amount recorded for 2007. Foreign official purchases of U.S. Treasury
securities remained strong through the first three quarters of 2009, while foreign private
purchases of such securities turned negative in the second and third quarters,
The data in Table 2 also indicate that official capital flows at times accounted for the largest share
of both U.S. capital inflows and outflows in 2008. Another way of viewing the data is presented
in Table 3 which shows the net amount of the flows in the major accounts, or the difference
between the inflows and outflows. In 2008 for instance, total net capital inflows representing the
net balance on the current account, the capital account, and the statistical discrepancy, were a
negative $505 billion, markedly less than the deficit of $664 in 2007. This decrease in the overall
net capital inflows occurred in part because of an increase in the surplus in the services account
and in the income account. These totals may change, however, since they are subject to periodic
revisions.
Table 3. Summary of the Net Balances by Major Accounts in the U.S. Balance of
Payments
(in billions of U.S. dollars)
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
-$400
-$501
-$533
-$532
-$701
-$809
-$664
-$505
-430
-483
-549
-672
-791
-847
-831
-840
Total Net Services
64
61
54
62
76
87
130
144
Total Net Income
32
27
45
67
72
48
91
118
-64
-65
-72
-88
-106
-91
-116
-128
12
-1
-3
1
11
-4
-2
1
-14
-40
-8
97
37
-2
65
200
$400
$501
$533
$532
$701
$809
$664
$505
Total Net Official
23
113
280
402
279
496
459
-47
Total Net Private
378
388
253
130
422
313
205
553
Direct Investment
24
19
11
13
8
2
-11
29
289
335
165
305
331
260
306
131
Total Net Capital Inflows
Total Net Goods
Total Net Transfers
Total Net Capital Account
Statistical Discrepancy
Total Net Financial Account
Portfolio Investment
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
65
34
77
-188
82
51
-90
393
0
0
0
0
0
30
6
-29
Other Private (Banks)
Financial Derivatives
Source: Data developed by CRS from data published by the Department of Commerce.
Commerce Department data indicate that foreign private purchases of Treasury securities turned
negative between 1998 and 2001 and in 2006 as foreign private investors experienced net sales of
Treasury securities, as indicated in Figure 1. By 2002, foreign private investors returned to
acquiring Treasury securities, but the amount they acquired remained relatively level at $100
billion per year from 2002 to 2005. In contrast, foreign official net acquisitions of Treasury
securities trended slightly upward between 2000 and 2002, but such net acquisitions more than
doubled over the 2002 to 2004 period, rising to $273 billion in 2004. In 2005, though, official
purchases of Treasury securities plummeted to $112 billion and were less than private purchases.
In 2006, private foreign investors again reduced their net holdings of Treasury securities. This
action was offset by a large increase in acquisitions of Treasury securities by foreign
governments, directed at least in part to slow the decline in the international exchange value of
the dollar. In 2008, foreign private investors accumulated $197 billion in Treasury securities, as
foreign governments sharply increased their net purchases of Treasury securities, which rose from
$98 billion in 2007 to $478 billion in 2008.
Figure 1. Foreign Private and Official Purchases of U.S.Treasury Securities, 19972008
$500
Billions of dollars
$400
$300
Official
$200
$100
$0
Private
-$100
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: Department of Commerce
The deficit in the net capital inflow account was financed by an offsetting net inflow in the
financial account. One striking feature of the financial flows is the way the composition of the
balances in the net financial account have changed over the period since 2002. Net private and net
official capital inflows have changed abruptly since the period prior to 2002, when private
Congressional Research Service
6
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
inflows were greater than official inflows, as indicated in Figure 2. In 2004, 2006, and 2007, net
official inflows exceeded net private inflows. In 2007, foreign private inflows of capital increased
by more than 2%, but similar private outflows by U.S. citizens increased by more than 11%, so
that the overall net private flows fell in 2007. In 2008, however, private capital flows by U.S.
citizens shifted from a net outflow of $1.4 trillion in 2007 to a net inflow of $500 billion in 2008.
During the same period, U.S. official outflows increased from $22 billion in 2007 to $530 billion
in 2008. In contrast, foreign private inflows of capital dropped from $1.6 trillion in 2007 to $47
billion in 2008. During the same period, foreign official inflows increased slightly from $481
billion in 2007 to $487 billion in 2008. As a result of these changes, net official flows, or the
combination of U.S. and foreign officials flows dropped from a net outflow of $458 billion 2007
to a net inflows of $47 billion in 2008. In addition, net private flows increased from a net inflow
of $199 billion in 2007 to a net inflow of $581 billion in 2008.
Figure 2. Net Inflows of Private and Official Sources of Capital, 1997-2008
$600
Billions of dollars
$500
Private
$400
$300
$200
$100
$0
Official
-$100
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Source: Department of Commerce
The data in Table 4 show the total net accumulation of U.S. securities, or the amount of securities
purchased less those that were sold, by foreign private and official sources from 2001-2008. The
data indicate that in 2008, the net accumulation of U.S. securities fell sharply from the amount
recorded in 2007, largely due to a shift in net private purchases from a net accumulation in 2007
of $644 billion to a net sales of $114 in 2008. Private foreign investors operating in every area but
Asia reduced their accumulation of U.S. corporate stocks, Similarly, foreign private investors
reduced their accumulation of corporate bonds, reflecting the deteriorating economic and profit
conditions of most U.S. firms in 2008. In addition, both private and official investors reduced
their net accumulation of other U.S. government agency bonds.
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Table 4. Net Foreign Purchases of Long-Term U.S. Securities
(in billions of dollars)
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
$430.3
$428.3
$520.5
$767.8
$875.7
$1,099.1
$989.6
$245.6
Total private purchases
370.7
361.7
311.7
455.6
598.3
611.4
644.8
-113.7
Corporate stocks
119.5
56.1
34.3
59.5
88.3
139.7
230.5
57.1
Europe
86.8
31.5
22.1
36.3
44.0
92.6
90.5
4.3
United Kingdom
37.3
14.4
0.2
28.9
21.2
73.2
67.9
28.5
Canada
11.7
12.9
11.5
3.9
21.0
12.6
9.8
6.7
Caribbean financial centers
-5.8
-17.1
-2.3
3.1
14.8
34.4
95.4
3.0
6.8
0.8
0.5
-0.4
-0.4
1.8
1.1
3.7
20.2
23.0
2.8
5.5
8.7
-2.2
27.9
44.0
6.6
12.2
-2.3
4.9
-0.1
-1.2
-5.6
20.7
-0.4
-0.1
0.2
-0.1
0.3
0.0
-0.4
-4.7
Corporate bonds
191.6
145.4
223.2
254.6
312.3
517.8
383.7
1.0
Europe
108.4
78.9
130.9
126.3
199.8
332.1
225.9
-62.5
84.1
55.8
89.0
69.6
144.7
203.6
130.5
-38.0
3.3
-0.0
5.2
6.0
1.9
7.9
12.4
7.0
49.6
35.5
54.0
47.1
40.2
106.9
61.9
22.2
5.0
4.6
6.7
20.2
7.3
9.3
4.7
1.7
Asia
24.2
22.7
24.2
51.9
54.4
53.7
72.8
32.3
Japan
6.1
10.8
10.5
33.5
25.6
12.2
39.5
21.6
Africa
0.3
0.1
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.2
-0.4
-0.4
Other
0.9
3.6
1.7
2.6
8.1
7.7
6.4
0.7
U.S. Treasury bonds
-23.2
78.4
91.0
74.1
147.9
-71.9
39.2
13.0
Europe
-30.2
38.7
18.1
38.2
65.2
-61.9
57.8
-65.9
Canada
0.2
-5.0
11.4
16.3
21.8
14.7
-1.9
-5.7
Caribbean financial centers
1.0
14.8
6.2
22.1
44.9
-10.9
-6.2
17.6
-3.3
3.1
3.0
-3.4
10.4
-2.1
9.8
-5.1
Asia
8.1
22.3
46.4
1.0
1.3
-10.7
-20.8
69.3
Africa
0.0
1.1
-0.2
0.7
1.7
1.1
1.5
7.1
Other
1.0
3.6
6.1
-0.8
2.5
-2.1
-1.1
-4.3
82.8
81.8
-36.8
67.4
49.8
25.8
-8.6
-184.8
Total private and official net
purchases of U.S. securities
Latin America
Asia
Of which: Japan
Africa
United Kingdom
Canada
Caribbean financial centers
Latin America
Latin America
Federal agency bonds
Congressional Research Service
8
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Europe
29.6
4.7
-29.4
13.3
-11.9
United Kingdom
33.4
22.4
14.6
31.4
Canada
-0.7
-1.9
-4.0
Caribbean financial centers
6.4
23.2
Latin America
4.6
Asia
2006
2007
2008
-8.1
42.3
0.9
-1.3
-8.8
70.9
59.2
5.0
12.1
9.7
3.0
4.9
6.0
11.3
3.0
31.3
-21.6
-100.1
7.5
4.9
1.8
7.1
3.4
2.8
0.8
45.3
49.3
-11.9
36.4
40.2
-10.8
-34.6
-87.8
Japan
12.6
16.8
-16.4
16.5
15.6
2.9
-14.9
-37.2
Africa
0.2
0.3
0.2
-0.1
-0.3
-0.3
-0.6
-2.8
Other
-2.6
-1.2
-2.7
-0.3
-0.4
0.6
0.1
-0.8
Total official purchases
59.6
66.5
208.7
312.2
277.4
487.7
344.8
359.3
U.S. Treasury bonds
32.9
32.4
163.5
256.8
156.9
233.5
76.6
205.2
Other U.S. Government securities
20.9
30.5
39.9
41.7
100.5
219.8
171.5
65.8
Corporate bonds
3.8
5.6
5.6
11.5
19.1
28.6
51.6
35.0
Corporate stocks
2.0
-2.0
-0.3
2.2
1.0
5.8
45.1
53.4
Source: Weinberg, Douglas B., U.S. International Transactions: Third Quarter of 2009. Survey of Current
Business, January, 2010. Table 8a.
The U.S. Net International Investment Position
As indicated above, the data in Tables 2 and 3 show that the trade deficit is accompanied by an
equal capital inflow that represents an accumulation of dollar-denominated assets by foreigners.
Some observers have equated the trade deficit and the associated accumulation of foreign-owned
dollar-denominated assets as a debt that the U.S. economy owes to foreigners that will have to be
repaid. This characterization, however, is not entirely appropriate. The debts owned by foreign
investors represents claims on assets, rather than loans where payments on the principle and
interest are specified according to a fixed schedule and where failure to meet the repayment
schedule can result in the loans being called in and made payable in full. While foreign investors
have expectations of a positive return on their dollar-denominated assets, returns, except for
Treasury securities, are not guaranteed, but are subject to market forces. An important feature of
claims by foreign investors on U.S. assets is that some or all of the profits or returns on the assets
can be repatriated to the home country of the foreign investor, thereby reducing the returns that
would otherwise remain in the U.S. economy.
According to the most commonly accepted approach to the balance of payments, macroeconomic
developments in the U.S. economy are the major driving forces behind the magnitudes of capital
flows, because the macroeconomic factors determine the overall demand for and supply of capital
in the economy. Economists generally conclude that the rise in capital inflows can be attributed to
comparatively favorable returns on investments in the United States when adjusted for risk, a
surplus of saving in other areas of the world, the well-developed U.S. financial system, the
overall stability of the U.S. economy, and the generally held view that U.S. securities, especially
Treasury securities, are high quality financial instruments that are low risk. In turn, these net
capital inflows (inflows net of outflows) bridge the gap in the United States between the amount
Congressional Research Service
9
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
of credit demanded and the domestic supply of funds, likely keeping U.S. interest rates below the
level they would have reached without the foreign capital. These capital inflows also allow the
United States to spend beyond its means, including financing its trade deficit, because foreigners
are willing to lend to the United States in the form of exchanging goods, represented by U.S.
imports, for such U.S. assets as stocks, bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, and real estate and U.S.
businesses.
While this exchange of assets is implicit in the balance of payments, the Department of
Commerce explicitly accounts for this broad flow of dollar-denominated assets through the
nation’s net international investment position. The U.S. net international investment position
represents the accumulated value of U.S.-owned assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the
United States measured on an annual basis at the end of the calendar year. Some observers refer
to the net of this investment position (or the difference between the value of U.S.-owned assets
abroad and the value of foreign-owned assets in the United States) as a debt, or indicate that the
United States is a net debtor nation, because the value of foreign-owned assets in the United
States is greater than the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad.
In fact, the nation’s net international investment position is not a measure of the nation’s
indebtedness similar to the debt borrowed by some developing countries, but it is simply an
accounting of assets. By year-end 2008, the latest year for which data are available, the overseas
assets of U.S. residents totaled $19.4 trillion, while foreigners had acquired about $23 trillion in
assets in the United States, with direct investment measured at historical cost. As a result, the U.S.
net international investment position was about a negative $3.6 trillion, with direct investment
measured at historical cost, as indicated in Table 5.
Table 5. U.S. Net International Investment Position
(in billions of dollars)
Type of Investment
2005
2006
2007
2008
Net international investment position of the United States:
With direct investment at current cost
-1,925.1
-2,225.8
-2,139.9
-3,469.2
With direct investment at market value
-1,850.9
-1,849.3
-1,506.6
-4,006.9
With direct investment at historical cost
-2,129.9
-2,399.4
-2,334.2
-3,638.1
57.9
59.8
71.5
159.6
With direct investment at current cost
11,961.6
14,381.3
18,278.8
19,888.2
With direct investment at market value
12,947.8
15,900.0
20,055.3
19,260.6
With direct investment at historical cost
11,445.3
13,900.0
17,744.3
19,351.4
1,190.0
1,239.0
2,559.3
6,624.5
188.0
219.9
277.2
293.7
77.5
72.2
94.5
624.1
With direct investment at current cost
10,506.0
12,850.3
15,347.8
12,345.8
With direct investment at market value
11,492.2
14,368.9
17,124.3
11,718.2
With direct investment at historical cost
9,989.7
12,369.0
14,813.3
11,809.0
Financial derivatives
U.S.-owned assets abroad:
Financial derivatives
U.S. official reserve assets
U.S. Government assets, other
U.S. private assets:
Congressional Research Service
10
Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Type of Investment
2005
2006
2007
2008
Direct investment abroad:
—At current cost
2,651.7
2,936.0
3,451.5
3,698.8
—At market value
3,638.0
4,454.6
5,228.0
3,071.2
—At historical cost
2,135.5
2,454.7
2,916.9
3,162.0
Foreign securities
4,329.3
5,604.5
6,835.1
4,244.3
Bonds
1,011.6
1,275.5
1,567.1
1,392.9
Corporate stocks
3,317.7
4,329.0
5,248.0
2,851.4
U.S. claims by US nonbanking concerns
1,018.5
1,163.1
1,239.7
991.9
U.S. claims reported by US banks
2,506.5
3,146.7
3,821.5
3,410.8
With direct investment at current cost
13,886.7
16,607.1
20,418.8
23,357.4
With direct investment at market value
14,798.7
17,749.2
21,561.9
23,267.4
With direct investment at historical cost
13,575.2
16,299.4
20,078.5
22,989.4
1,132.1
1,179.2
2,487.9
6,465.0
2,306.3
2,825.6
3,404.0
3,871.4
With direct investment at current cost
10,446.3
12,602.3
14,526.9
13,021.1
With direct investment at market value
11,360.3
13,744.4
15,670.1
12,931.1
With direct investment at historical cost
10,136.6
12,294.6
14,186.6
12,653.1
—At current cost
1,906.0
2,151.6
2,450.1
2,646.8
—At market value
2,818.0
3,293.7
3,593.3
2,556.9
—At historical cost
1,594.5
1,843.9
2,109.9
2,278.9
643.8
567.9
639.7
885.0
U.S. other securities
4,353.0
5,372.4
6,190.1
4,703.5
—Corporate and other bonds
2,243.1
2,824.9
3,289.1
2,865.9
—Corporate stocks
2,109.9
2,547.5
2,901.0
1,837.6
U.S. currency
280.4
282.6
272.0
301.1
U.S. liabilities by U.S. nonbanking concerns
658.2
797.5
1,000.4
873.2
2,606.9
3,430.3
3,974.6
3,611.4
Foreign-owned assets in the United States:
Financial derivatives
Foreign official assets in the United States
Foreign private assets:
Direct investment in the United States:
U.S. Treasury securities
U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks
Source: Nguyen, Elena L., The International Investment Position of the United States at Yearend 2008, Survey
of Current Business, July 2009. p. 10-18.
Foreign investors who acquire U.S. assets do so at their own risk and accept the returns
accordingly, unlike the debt owed by developing countries where principle and debt service
payments are guaranteed in advance. While foreign investors likely expect positive returns from
their dollar-denominated assets, the returns on most of the assets in the international investment
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
position, except for bonds, are not guaranteed and foreign investors stand to gain or lose on them
similar to the way U.S. domestic investors gain or lose.
As Table 5 indicates, the investments in the international investment position include such
financial assets as corporate stocks and bonds, government securities, and direct investment7 in
businesses and real estate. The value of these assets, measured on an annual basis, can change as
a result of purchases and sales of new or existing assets; changes in the financial value of the
assets that arise through appreciation, depreciation, or inflation; changes in the market values of
stocks and bonds; or changes in the value of currencies. For instance, in 2008, U.S. private
holdings abroad declined in value $15.3 trillion to $12.3 trillion due to a large decline in the value
of foreign corporate stocks, reflecting the decline in stock market values in nearly all exchanges,
combined with a decline in the exchange value of the dollar, which depreciates the value of assets
held abroad when translated into dollar equivalents. Similarly, the value of foreign owned
corporate stocks in the United States fell sharply in value in 2008, pulling down the overall
investment position of foreign investors. The Department of Commerce uses three different
methods for valuing direct investments that yield roughly comparable estimates for the net
position, although the three methods do provide estimates on U.S. direct investment abroad and
foreign direct investment that can be considerably different at times.8
The foreign investment position in the United States continues to increase as foreigners acquire
additional U.S. assets and as the value of existing assets appreciates. These assets are broadly
divided into official and private investments reflecting transactions by governments among
themselves and transactions among the public. While the foreign official share of the overall
amount of capital inflows has grown sharply as indicated in Table 3, the overall foreign official
share of foreign-owned assets in the United States has remained relatively modest.
As Figure 3 indicates, official asset holdings were valued at about $3.8 trillion in 2008, or about
17% of the total foreign investment position, a share that has remained relatively stable over the
14-year period of 1994 to 2008. Official assets include such monetary reserve assets as gold, the
reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and holdings of foreign currency.
An important component of foreign official holdings in the United States is the acquisitions of
U.S. Treasury securities by foreign governments. At times, such acquisitions are used by foreign
governments, either through coordinated actions or by themselves, to affect the foreign exchange
price of the dollar. Foreign currency holdings account for a relatively small share of the total
foreign investment position.9
7
The United States defines foreign direct investment as the ownership or control, directly or indirectly, by one foreign
person (individual, branch, partnership, association, government, etc.) of 10% or more of the voting securities of an
incorporated U.S. business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated U.S. business enterprise. 15 CFR §
806.15 (a)(1). Similarly, the United States defines direct investment abroad as the ownership or control, directly or
indirectly, by one person (individual, branch, partnership, association, government, etc.) of 10% or more of the voting
securities of an incorporated business enterprise or an equivalent interest in an unincorporated business enterprise. 15
CFR § 806.15 (a)(1).
8
For additional information, see CRS Report RL32964, The United States as a Net Debtor Nation: Overview of the
International Investment Position, by James K. Jackson.
9
For additional information, see CRS Report RL32462, Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities, by James K. Jackson.
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Figure 3. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States,
1994-2008
$16
Trillions of dollars
$14
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$2
$0
1994
1996
1998
2000
Foreign official assets
2002
2004
2006
2008
Foreign private assets
Source: Department of Commerce
Private asset holdings are comprised primarily of direct investment in businesses and real estate,
purchases of publicly traded government securities, and corporate stocks and bonds. As indicated
in Figure 4, the composition of U.S. assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the United States
differ in a number of ways. The strength and uniqueness of the U.S. Treasury securities markets
make these assets sought after by both official and private foreign investors, whereas U.S.
investors hold few foreign government securities. As a result, foreign official assets in the United
States far outweigh U.S. official assets abroad. Both foreign private and official investors have
been drawn at times to U.S. government securities as a safe haven investment during troubled or
unsettled economic conditions.
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Figure 4. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component, 2008
US Assets
Foreign Assets
Total = $19.4 trillion
Total = $23.0 trillion
Official assets
Direct invest.
Govt. securities
Bonds
Stocks
Nonbanks
US banks
$5
$4
$3
$2
Trillions
$1
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
Trillions
Source: Department of Commerce
Implications
The persistent U.S. trade deficit raises concerns in Congress and elsewhere due to the potential
risks such deficits may pose for the long term rate of growth for the economy. In particular, some
observers are concerned that foreigner investors’ portfolios will become saturated with dollardenominated assets and foreign investors will become unwilling to accommodate the trade deficit
by holding more dollar-denominated assets. The shift in 2004 in the balance of payments toward
a larger share of assets being acquired by official sources generated speculation that foreign
private investors had indeed reached the point where they were no longer willing to add more
dollar-denominated assets to their portfolios. This shift was reversed in 2005, however, as foreign
private investments rebounded.
Another concern is with the outflow of profits that arise from the dollar-denominated assets
owned by foreign investors. This outflow stems from the profits or interest generated by the
assets and represent a clear outflow of capital from the economy that otherwise would not occur if
the assets were owned by U.S. investors. These capital outflows represent the most tangible cost
to the economy of the present mix of economic policies in which foreign capital inflows are
needed to fill the gap between the demand for capital in the economy and the domestic supply of
capital.
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Financing the U.S. Trade Deficit
Indeed, as the data presented indicate, it is important to consider the underlying cause of the trade
deficit. According to the most commonly accepted economic approach, in a world with floating
exchange rates and the free flow of large amounts dollars in the world economy and international
access to dollar-denominated assets, macroeconomic developments, particularly the demand for
and supply of credit in the economy, are the driving forces behind the movements in the dollar’s
international exchange rate and, therefore, the price of exports and imports in the economy. As a
result, according to this approach, the trade deficit is a reflection of macroeconomic conditions
within the domestic economy and an attempt to address the issue of the trade deficit without
addressing the underlying macroeconomic factors in the economy likely would prove to be of
limited effectiveness.
In addition, the nation’s net international investment position indicates that the largest share of
U.S. assets owned by foreigners is held by private investors who acquired the assets for any
number of reasons. As a result, the United States is not in debt to foreign investors or to foreign
governments similar to some developing countries that run into balance of payments problems,
because the United States has not borrowed to finance its trade deficit. Instead the United States
has traded assets with foreign investors who are prepared to gain or lose on their investments in
the same way private U.S. investors can gain or lose. It is certainly possible that foreign investors,
whether they are private or official, could eventually decide to limit their continued acquisition of
dollar-denominated assets or even reduce the size of their holdings, but there is no firm evidence
that such presently is the case.
Author Contact Information
James K. Jackson
Specialist in International Trade and Finance
jjackson@crs.loc.gov, 7-7751
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