The United States as a Net Debtor Nation:
Overview of the International Investment
Position
James K. Jackson
Specialist in International Trade and Finance
July 28, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RL32964
CRS Report for Congress
P
repared for Members and Committees of Congress

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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

Summary
The international investment position of the United States is an annual measure of the assets
Americans own abroad and the assets foreigners own in the United States. The net position, or the
difference between the two, sometimes is referred to as a measure of U.S. international
indebtedness. This designation is not strictly correct, because the net international investment
position reveals the difference between the total assets Americans own abroad and the total
amount of assets foreigners own in the United States. These assets generate flows of capital into
and out of the economy that have important implications for the value of the dollar in
international exchange markets. Some Members of Congress and some in the public have
expressed concerns about the U.S. net international investment position because of the role
foreign investors are playing in U.S. capital markets and the potential for large outflows of
income and services payments. Some observers also argue that the U.S. reliance on foreign
capital inflows places the economy in a vulnerable position.


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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

Contents
Background ................................................................................................................................ 1
Valuing Investments.................................................................................................................... 3
Investment Patterns ..................................................................................................................... 5
International Investment: Sources and Economic Impact ........................................................... 10
Congressional Response............................................................................................................ 14

Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Estimated Value of Accumulated Position,
1996-2009................................................................................................................................ 4
Figure 2. Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Estimated Value of
Accumulated Position, 1996-2009............................................................................................ 5
Figure 3. U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and Foreign–Owned Assets in the United States
1996-2009................................................................................................................................ 6
Figure 4. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States, 1996-
2009 ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Figure 5. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component, 2009.............................. 9
Figure 6. U.S. Income Receipts and Payments on U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and on
Foreign-Owned Assets in the United States, 2009................................................................... 13

Tables
Table 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position..................................................................... 1
Table 2. U.S. International Investment Status............................................................................... 7
Table 3. Saving and Investment in Selected Countries and Areas; 2004-2008, and 2009............ 11
Table 4. Estimates of Wealth in the United States, 2008 Current-Cost, Gross Stock
Values .................................................................................................................................... 14

Contacts
Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 16

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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

Background
The U.S. 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 in a net debtor position, 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 international investment position is not a measure of the nation’s
indebtedness similar to the debt borrowed by some developing countries, but it is an accounting
of assets. By year-end 2009, the latest year for which data are available, the overseas assets of
U.S. residents totaled approximately $18 trillion, while foreigners had acquired about $21 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 $3 trillion in the negative with direct
investment measured at historical cost, as indicated in Table 1.
Table 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position
(in billions of dollars)
Type
of
Investment
2006 2007 2008 2009
Net international investment position of the United States:



With direct investment at current cost
$-2,191.7
$-1,915.7
$-3,493.9
$-2,737.8

With direct investment at market value
-1,808.5
-1,380.0
-4,164.2
-2,934.0

With direct investment at historical cost
-2,378.2
-2,421.3
-3,661.4
-2,927.7
Financial
derivatives
59.8
71.5
159.6
127.9
U.S.-owned assets abroad:



With direct investment at current cost
14,428.1
18,339.9
19,244.9
18,379.1

With direct investment at market value
15,950.3
20,062.0
18,605.7
18,630.7

With direct investment at historical cost
13,721.6
17,264.2
18,721.8
17,836.0

Financial
derivatives
1,239.0 2,559.3 6,127.5 3,512.0
U.S. official reserve assets
219.9
277.2
293.7
403.8
U.S. Government assets, other
72.2
94.5
624.1
82.8
U.S. private assets:




With direct investment at current cost
12,897.1
15,408.9
12,199.6
14,380.5

With direct investment at market value
14,419.3
17,130.9
11,560.5
14,632.2

With direct investment at historical cost
12,190.6
14,333.2
11,676.5
13,837.5

Direct investment abroad:



—At
current
cost
2,948.2 3,552.9 3,742.8 4,051.2

—At
market
value
4,470.3 5,275.0 3,103.7 4,302.9

—At historical cost
2,241.7
2,477.3
3,219.7
3,508.1

Foreign
securities
5,604.5 6,835.1 3,985.7 5,471.0

—Bonds
1,275.5 1,587.1 1,237.3 1,493.6
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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

Type
of
Investment
2006 2007 2008 2009

—Corporate
stocks
4,329.0 5,248.0 2,748.4 3,977.4

U.S. claims by US nonbanking concerns
1,184.1
1,173.7
794.7
794.2

U.S. claims reported by US banks
3,160.4
3,847.1
3,676.3
4,064.1



Foreign-owned assets in the United States:



With direct investment at current cost
16,619.8
20,255.6
22,738.8
21,116.9

With direct investment at market value
17,758.8
21,441.9
22,770.0
21,564.7

With direct investment at historical cost
16,099.8
19,685.5
22,383.2
20,763.7

Financial
derivatives
1,179.2 2,487.9 5,967.8 3,384.1
Foreign official assets in the United States
2,833.0
3,411.8
3,940.0
4,373.8
Foreign private assets:



With direct investment at current cost
12,607.6
14,355.9
12,830.9
13,359.0

With direct investment at market value
13,746.6
15,542.2
12,862.2
13,806.8

With direct investment at historical cost
12,087.7
13,785.8
12,475.3
13,005.8

Direct investment in the United States:



—At
current
cost
2,154.1 2,410.5 2,521.4 2,672.8

—At
market
value
3,293.1 3,596.9 2,552.6 3,120.6

—At historical cost
1,634.1
1,840.5
2,165.7
2,319.6

U.S.
Treasury
securities
567.9 639.8 850.9 826.2

U.S.
other
securities
5,372.3 6,190.0 4,620.8 5,287.2

—Corporate and other bonds
2,824.9
3,289.1
2,770.6
2,841.2

—Corporate
stocks
2,547.5 2,900.9 1,850.2 2,445.9

U.S.
currency
282.6 272.0 301.1 313.8

U.S. liabilities by U.S. nonbanking concerns
799.5 864.6 731.5 665.5

U.S. liabilities reported by U.S. banks
3,431.3
3,979.0 3,805.2 3,593.6
Source: Nguyen, Elena L., The International Investment Position of the United States at Yearend 2009, Survey
of Current Business, July 2010. 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 debt service payments are
guaranteed in advance. The returns on the assets in the investment position, except for bonds, are
not guaranteed and foreign investors gain or lose in the same way as U.S. domestic investors. As
Table 1 indicates, these investments include such financial assets as corporate stocks and bonds,
government securities, and direct investment1 in businesses and real estate. The value of these

1 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
(continued...)
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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

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
have varied considerably at times.
Valuing Investments
The Department of Commerce provides updated estimates on the nation’s international
investment position each year, typically in July, based on data for the previous year through the
end of the calendar year. Except for direct investment, all of the accounts in the international
investment position are estimated directly by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA) relative to readily observable market prices. For example, the value of
positions in portfolio investments (securities), gold, loans, currencies, and bank deposits can be
directly estimated by the BEA based on the face values or market prices of recent transactions.
Estimating the value of direct investments, however, presents a number of challenges. According
to the Department of Commerce, these challenges arise because foreign direct investments,
“typically represent illiquid ownership interests in companies that may possess many unique
attributes—such as customer base, management, and ownership of intangible assets—whose
values in the current period are difficult to determine, because there is no widely accepted
standard for revaluing company financial statements at historical cost into prices of the current
period.”2
As a result, the Department of Commerce estimates the U.S. international investment position in
three ways, reflecting three different accounting methods for estimating the value of direct
investments: historical cost; current cost; and market value. Initially, direct investments are
valued at historical cost, or the cost at the time of the investment. This historical cost value can
become outdated because it is not updated to account for changes in the value of an investment
through appreciation, or through internal growth and expansion, or through changes in various
intangible assets. The current cost approach estimates the value of capital equipment and land at
their current replacement cost using general cost indexes, and inventories, using estimates of their
replacement cost, rather than at their historical cost. The third measure, market value, uses
indexes of stock market prices to revalue the owners’ equity share of direct investment.
For the most part, the current cost and historical cost estimates have tracked closely together for
U.S. direct investment abroad and for foreign direct investment in the United States, as indicated
in Figure 1 and Figure 2, respectively. These two measures of direct investment demonstrate a
steady increase in the value of the investments over the 19-year period from 1990 to 2008. The
market value estimate of direct investment, however, displays a markedly different pattern. These
estimates spiked during the rapid runup in stock market values in the 1990s and then dropped

(...continued)
CFR § 806.15 (a)(1).
2 Nguyen, Elena L., “The International Investment Position of the United States at Yearend 2007,” Survey of Current
Business, July 2008, p. 9.
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The United States as a Net Debtor Nation

sharply when market values declined at the end of the 1990s. The market value estimates rose
sharply again in 2003 through 2007, as the rebound in stock market values pushed up the
estimated market value of firms. The data for 2008, however, offer one clear indication of the
economic recession that was beginning to take hold in 2008 and the initial stages of the financial
crisis that negatively affected stock market indexes in nearly all markets. The market value of
U.S. direct investment abroad rose by 38% in 2009 from $3.1 trillion to$4.3 trillion. During the
same period, the market value of foreign direct investment in the United States rose by 22% from
$2.6 trillion to $3.1 trillion. Similarly, the value of foreign corporate stocks owned by U.S.
investors rose by 37% from $4.0 trillion in 2008 to $5.5 trillion in 2009. In comparison, the value
of U.S. corporate stocks owned by foreign investors rose by 14% from $4.6 trillion in 2008 to
$5.3 trillion in 2009.
Figure 1. U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Estimated Value of Accumulated Position,
1996-2009
$6,000
$5,000
rs $4,000
lla
do
$3,000
of
illions $2,000
B
$1,000
$0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 199 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200
Current cost
Market value
Historical cost

Source: Department of Commerce
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Figure 2. Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Estimated Value of
Accumulated Position, 1996-2009
$4,000
$3,500
$3,000
rs
lla $2,500
o
f d $2,000
o
s
n
io $1,500
ill
B
$1,000
$500
$0
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
00
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Current cost
Market value
Historical cost

Source: Department of Commerce
Investment Patterns
Foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses surged in the mid-1980s and has at times outpaced
the annual amount of U.S. direct investment abroad. For various reasons, U.S. direct investment
abroad and foreign direct investment in the United States have tended to track together so that the
annual flows increase or decrease somewhat in tandem,3 except in 2005, when U.S. direct
investment abroad dropped sharply as U.S. parent firms reduced the amount of reinvested
earnings going to their foreign affiliates for distribution to the U.S. parent firms in order to take
advantage of one-time tax provisions in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357).
From 2002 and 2004, and again in 2007 to 2009, U.S. direct investment outflows were greater
than similar inflows. As a whole, however, foreign investment in all U.S. assets has been greater
than U. S. investment abroad, which has tended to push the net U.S. international investment
position further into a negative position. This is not the first time in the nation’s history that the
U.S. net international investment position has been negative.
Early in the nation’s history as the United States made the transition from being a developing
economy to being a major economic superpower, foreign investment flowed into capital
development projects such as railroad and canal construction which aided the westward
expansion and the development of heavy industries. By 1920, foreigners had withdrawn many of

3 See CRS Report RL32461, Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy: Evidence Based on Foreign
Investment Data, by James K. Jackson.
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their assets from the United States to finance World War I, which turned the United States into a
net creditor. This net creditor position grew unabated after World War II and into the 1980s, when
large inflows of foreign investment once again turned the nation into a net international
investment debtor.
The U.S. net debtor status continued to grow through the 1990s and into the 2000s, as indicated
by Figure 3, which shows U.S.-owned assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the United
States with direct investment valued at historical cost. By year-end 2009, U.S. assets abroad are
estimated to have reached $18 trillion, while foreign owned assets in the United States reached
$21 trillion, with direct investments valued at historical cost. As a result, the U.S. net international
investment position was estimated to be a negative $3 trillion, or equivalent to about 20% of U.S.
gross domestic product (GDP), marking a substantial increase in the relative size of the net
investment debt position over the previous decade, as indicated in Table 2. The net investment
position improved by over $700 billion during 2009, with direct investment measured at historical
cost. According to the two other measures for direct investment—current cost and market value—
the net investment position was valued at about negative $2.7 trillion and negative $2.9 trillion,
respectively.
Figure 3. U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and Foreign–Owned Assets in the United
States 1996-2009
$25
$20
s
ar $15
ll
$10
illions of do
Tr
$5
$0
4
5
7
8
0
1
3
4
5
7
8
199
199
1996 199
199
1999 200
200
2002 200
200
200
2006 200
200
2009
U.S. Assets
Foreign-Owned Assets

Source: Department of Commerce
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Table 2. U.S. International Investment Status
(billions of dollars)
U.S.-Owned
Foreign-Owned
U.S. Net
U.S. Gross
Relative Share of
Assets
Assets in the
International
Domestic
U.S. Gross

Abroad
United States
Investment Position
Product
Domestic Product
1980 $541.7
$442.4
$99.4
$2,788.1
3.6%
1985 1,134.5
1,143.0
-8.6
4,217.5
-0.2
1990 1,944.1
2,272.9
-328.8
5,800.5
-5.7
1995 3,213.7
3,717.1
-503.4
7414.7
-6.8
1996 3,741.5
4,285.6
-544.1
7838.5
-6.9
1997 4,295.0
5,128.0
-832.9
8332.4
-10.0
1998 4,770.8
5,715.7
-944.9
8793.5
-10.7
1999 5,560.7
6,382.2
-821.4
9353.5
-8.8
2000 5,923.1
7,110.5
-1,187.4
9951.5
-11.9
2001 5,931.8
7,922.1
-1,990.3
10,286.2
-19.3
2002 6,242.4
8,537.7
-2,295.4
10,642.3
-21.6
2003 7,200.2
9,478.1
-2,277.9
11,142.1
-20.4
2004 8,611.8 11,246.1
-2,634.4
11,867.8
-22.2
2005 11,470.7
13,508.0
-2,037.4
12,638.4
-16.1
2006 13,721.6
16,099.8
-2,378.2
13,398.9
-17.7
2007 17,284.2
19,685.5
-2,421.3
14,077.6
-17.2
2008 18,721.8
22,383.2
-3,661.4
14,441.4
-25.4
2009 17,836.0
20,763.7
-2,927.7
14,256.3
-20.5
Source: Department of Commerce
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. At times, some observers have been concerned
about the amount of foreign official investment in the U.S. economy, particularly in U.S. Treasury
securities and, more recently, purchases of U.S. businesses by foreign governments. As Figure 4
indicates, official asset holdings were valued at about $4.4 trillion in 2009, or about 21% of the
total foreign investment position. 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.
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Figure 4. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States,
1996-2009
$16
$14
$12
rs
a
ll $10
o
f d
o
$8
s
n
io
$6
rill
T
$4
$2
$0
4
5
6
7
8
9
0
1
2
4
5
6
7
8
199
199
199
199
199
199
200
200
200
2003 200
200
200
200
200
2009
Foreign official assets
Private investments

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 5, the composition of U.S. assets abroad and foreign-owned assets in the United States
is different 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, including the current financial crisis.
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Figure 5. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component, 2009
US Assets Total: $17.8 trillion Foreign Assets Total $20.8 trillion
US banks
Nonbanks
Stocks
Bonds
Govt. securities
Direct invest.
Derivatives
Official assets
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
Trillions of dollars
US assets
Foreign assets

Source: Department of Commerce
Of all the accounts, inward and outward direct investments are the most closely matched,
demonstrating the appeal of such investments to both U.S. and foreign investors. In fact, the
United States is unique in that it not only is the largest foreign direct investor in the world, but it
is also the largest recipient of direct investment in the world. Foreign investors also have been
attracted to U.S. corporate stocks and bonds for the same reasons domestic U.S. investors have
invested in them.4 The decline in the overall value of U.S. corporate stocks after 2000, however,
curbed the rate of growth of foreign purchases of these assets. A similar decline in the value of
foreign stocks and the depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a broad range of
currencies reduced the dollar value of American-owned stock holdings abroad. Claims by private
banks are also included in the international investment accounts and represent a broad range of
international financial transactions, including financing for short-term trade credits associated
with exports and imports of merchandise goods.

4 For additional information, see CRS Report RL32462, Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities, by James K. Jackson.
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International Investment: Sources and Economic
Impact
International investment not only has an impact on the U.S. economy, but it is affected by the
economy. For U.S. investors, foreign markets provide them with opportunities to seek out the
greatest returns for their investments, returns which are repatriated back to the United States. In
addition, U.S. direct investment abroad, for the most part, tends to stimulate U.S. exports, which
in turn stimulates the most productive sectors of the economy.5 U.S. direct investment abroad is
highly sought after by developing countries which want the capital not only to supplement their
own limited domestic sources, but they also want American technology and expertise.
Foreign capital inflows augment domestic U.S. sources of capital, which, in turn, keep U.S.
interest rates lower than they would be without the foreign capital. Indeed economists generally
argue that it is this interplay between the demand for and the supply of credit in the economy that
drives the broad inflows and outflows of capital. As U.S. demands for capital outstrip domestic
sources of funds, domestic interest rates rise relative to those abroad, which tends to draw capital
away from other countries to the United States.
The United States also has benefitted from a surplus of saving over investment in many areas of
the world that has provided a supply of funds. This surplus of saving has been available to the
United States because foreigners have remained willing to loan that saving to the United States in
the form of acquiring U.S. assets, which have accommodated the growing current account
deficits. Until the recent financial crisis, the United States has experienced a decline in its rate of
savings and an increase in the rate of domestic investment, as indicated in Table 3. The large
increase in the Nation’s current account deficit would not have been possible without the
accommodating inflows of foreign capital.
As Table 3 indicates, compared with the 2004-2008 period, U.S. saving in 2009 declined by 3.8%
of gross domestic product (GDP), while investment fell by an even larger 4.6% of GDP, so that
saving increased as a share of GDP. These changes in the share of saving and investment relative
to GDP were accompanied by a decrease worldwide in saving relative to investment, which
means there was a smaller amount of excess saving world-wide compared with the 2004-2008
period. Among other advanced economies, saving in 2009 declined relative to the 2002-2007
period, while investment during the same period increased slightly as a share of GDP. Among the
newly industrialized economies in Asia, both saving and investment increased in 2009 relative to
the 2002-2007 period, but investment increased more as a share of GDP than did saving, so in
relative terms saving decreased as a share of GDP. In the emerging developing economies, the
developing economies of Asia (which includes China), and the Middle East, saving as a share of
GDP increased faster, and in some cases much faster, than did investment, which also increased in
most of these areas.

5 For additional information, see CRS Report RL32461, Outsourcing and Insourcing Jobs in the U.S. Economy:
Evidence Based on Foreign Investment Data, by James K. Jackson.
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Table 3. Saving and Investment in Selected Countries and Areas; 2004-2008, and
2009
(Percentage of Gross Domestic Product)
Area/Country Average,
2004-2008
2009
Change
World
Saving
23.5
21.4
-2.1
Investment
23.1
21.5
-1.6
United States
Saving
14.6
10.8
-3.8
Investment
19.6
15.0
-4.6
Other Advanced Economies
Saving
20.3
17.1
-3.2
Investment
21.2
18.0
-3.2
Eurozone
Saving
21.8
18.7 -3.1
Investment
21.4
19.1 -2.3
Japan

Saving
27.4
23.0 -4.4
Investment
23.5
20.3 -3.2
Newly Industrialized Asian Economies
Saving
32.3
32.4
0.1
Investment
26.6
23.6
-3.0
Emerging Developing Economies
Saving
32.4
31.1
-1.3
Investment
28.5
29.2
0.7

Developing Asia
Saving
42.6
43.6
1.0
Investment
37.4
39.5
2.1

Middle East
Saving
40.7
29.6 -11.1
Investment
25.2
27.8
2.6
Source: World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, April 2010. p. 268-271.
Capital inflows also allow the United States to finance its trade deficit, because foreigners are
willing to lend to the United States in the form of exchanging the sale of goods, represented by
U.S. imports, for such U.S. assets as stocks, bonds, and U.S. Treasury securities. Such inflows,
however, put upward pressure on the dollar, which tends to push up the price of U.S. exports
relative to its imports and reduce the overall level of exports. Furthermore, foreign investment in
the U.S. economy drains off some of the income earned on the foreign-owned assets that
otherwise would accrue to the U.S. economy as foreign investors repatriate their earnings back
home.
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Some observers are particularly concerned about the long-term impact of the U.S. position as a
net international investment debtor on the pattern of U.S. international income receipts and
payments. In 2009, the United States received $623 billion in income receipts (including receipts
on royalties) on its investments abroad and paid out $508 billion in income payments (including
payments on royalties) on foreign-owned assets in the United States for a net surplus of $113
billion in income receipts.6 This surplus has varied over time as changes in interest rates affect
payments to foreign investors on such assets as Treasury securities and corporate bonds.7 As the
annual amount of foreign investment in the U.S. economy continues to exceed the amount of U.S.
investment abroad, it seems inevitable that U.S. payments on foreign-owned assets will exceed
U.S. receipts. A net outflow of income payments would act as a drag on the national economy as
U.S. national income is reduced by the net amount of funds that are channeled abroad to foreign
investors.
One of the positive areas of the income accounts is the income receipts the United States receives
on U.S. direct investments abroad. Although the historical cost value of U.S. direct investment
abroad and foreign direct investment in the U.S. are roughly equal, the United States earned $250
billion more on its direct investment assets abroad in 2009 than foreigners earned on their direct
investments in this country, as indicated in Figure 6. As indicated previously, in 2005 U.S. parent
firms reduced the amount of reinvested earnings going to their foreign affiliates for distribution to
the U.S. parent firms in order to take advantage of one-time tax provisions in the American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357). The Department of Commerce has analyzed data on direct
investment to determine the source of the low rate of return of foreign direct investment relative
to U.S. direct investment abroad.8 This analysis concluded that the gap in the rate of return
between U.S.-owned enterprises abroad and foreign-owned enterprises in the United States is
narrowing over time and seems to be related to the age of the investment, or that as foreigners’
investments mature, the rate of return of the assets approaches that of U.S. direct investment
abroad.
The U.S. net surplus of income receipts arising from direct investments was offset to a large
extent by large net income payments to foreign holders of U.S. government securities, which fell
slightly from the $167 billion paid in 2008 to $144 billion in 2009. The overall U.S. income
surplus was increased further by the income payments made to U.S. holders of foreign corporate
stocks and bonds. The United States received $234 billion in income from the corporate stocks
and bonds Americans owned abroad and paid out over $218 billion to foreign holders of U.S.
corporate securities, for a net inflow of $16 billion in income receipts on such assets. In addition,
the United States received $90 billion in royalties in 2009 on various products and on U.S.-
licensed production technology, patents, and copyrighted material. This was nearly four times the
$25 billion the United States paid foreigners in royalties on their investments in the United States.

6 Sauers, Renee M., and Kristy L. Howell, U.S. International Transactions: First Quarter of 2008. Survey of Current
Business, July 2008, p. 58.
7 Whitehouse, Mark, U.S. Foreign Debt Shows Its Teeth As Rates Climb. The Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2006,
p. A1.
8 Mataloni, Raymond, Jr., “An Examination of the Low Rates of Return of Foreign-Owned U.S. Companies,” Survey of
Current Business, March 2000, p. 55-73; and Landefeld, J. Steven, Ann M. Lawson, and Douglas B. Weinberg, “Rates
of Return on Direct Investment,” Survey of Current Business, August 1992, p. 79-86.
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Figure 6. U.S. Income Receipts and Payments on U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and on
Foreign-Owned Assets in the United States, 2009
US Receipts Total: $677.9 million US Payments Total: $492.0 million
Royalties and
license fees
U.S. government
receipts
Other private
receipts
Direct investment
receipts
$0
$50
$100
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
Millions of dollars
US Receipts
US Payments

Source: Department of Commerce
Some observers also are concerned about the extensive amount of foreign investment overall in
the U.S. economy and in U.S. financial assets. According to the estimates provided in Table 4,
foreigners own approximately 15% of total U.S. wealth. Although foreign investors own a little
less than 7% of total U.S. fixed private capital stock, they own substantially larger shares of U.S.
financial assets. For instance, foreign investors now own 55% of total U.S. Federal debt and more
than half of the outstanding publicly traded U.S. Treasury securities.9 Some observers argue that
such investments could spur an economic crisis in this country should foreign investors decide to
pull their money out of the investments, whether for economic or political reasons. This
possibility seems remote, however, given the negative impact such an action might have on the
foreign investors themselves, but the concerns remain.10

9 For additional information, see CRS Report RL32462, Foreign Investment in U.S. Securities, by James K. Jackson.
10 For a longer presentation of this topic, see CRS Report RL34319, Foreign Ownership of U.S. Financial Assets:
Implications of a Withdrawal, by James K. Jackson.
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Table 4. Estimates of Wealth in the United States, 2008 Current-Cost,
Gross Stock Values
(billions of dollars, percent)
Foreign
Foreign
Item Total
Owned
Share
Fixed Private Capital
$34,260.80 $2,278.89 6.7%
Nonresidential $17,181.80
$2,278.89
13.3%
—Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
$499.00
$3.33
0.7%
—Mining
$1,428.40 $110.83 7.8%
—Construction $295.40
$10.26
3.5%
—Manufacturing $2,312.90
$795.34
34.4%
—Transportation $1,133.80
$64.51
5.7%
—Wholesale Trade
$526.10
$312.58
59.4%
—Retail Trade
$1,102.20
$44.06
4.0%
—Finance, Insurance, Real Estate
$1,353.40
$248.89
18.4%
—Services
$4,020.90 $124.90 3.1%
Residential $17,412.60


—Farms $102.80


—Real Estate
$17,079.00


Fixed Government Capital
$9,320.20

—Equipment $958.40


—Structures $8,360.70


Consumer Durable Goods
$4,588.50

Financial Assets
$32,744.69 $9,423.37 28.8%
—Federal Debt, Publicly Held
$5,837.34
$3,210.64
55.0%
—Corporate Stocks
$15,777.35
$1,837.63
11.6%
—Corporate Bonds
$11,130.00
$2,865.90
25.7%
—Other
$1,509.20

Total
$80,914.19 $11,702.26 14.5%
Source: Nguyen, Elena L., The International Investment Position of the United States at Yearend 2008, Survey of
Current Business, July 2009. p. 17-19; Wasshausen, David B., Fixed Assets and Consumer Durable Goods for
1999-2008, Survey of Current Business, September 2009. p. 281; Foreign Direct Investment in the United States,
Tables. Survey of Current Business, September 2009. Table 16; Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States Flows and
Outstandings, Third Quarter 2009, December, 2009. Tables L212 and L213; Treasury Bul etin, Department of the
Treasury, December 2009. Table FD-1.
Congressional Response
Despite expressing concerns at times about the U.S. net international investment position,
Members of Congress generally have been reluctant to intervene in the investment process,
whether inward or outward. Indeed, successive Congresses and Administrations have led
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international efforts to eliminate or reduce restraints on the international flow of capital. If the
U.S. net investment position continues to turn more negative, prospects increase that the positive
U.S. net income receipts will turn negative as U.S. income payments overwhelm U.S. income
receipts. In such a case, the U.S. economy will experience a net economic drain as income that
could be used to finance new U.S. businesses and investments will be sent abroad to satisfy
foreign creditors. Such a drain likely will be small at first relative to the overall size of the
economy, but it could grow rapidly if the economy continues to import large amounts of foreign
capital.
Some observers are also concerned about the growing role foreign investment is playing in the
economy by bridging the gap between domestic sources and demands for credit. One chief
consideration is how the capital is being used. Investment funds that are flowing into direct
investment and into corporate stocks and bonds presumably are being used to bolster investments
in plant and equipment and other investments that aid in corporate productivity over the long run.
As such, those investments may well provide a boost to U.S. economic growth well into the
future. Foreign investment in U.S. Treasury securities directly aid in financing the Federal
government’s budget deficits and indirectly ease the Federal government’s demands on domestic
credit markets, which assists U.S. firms and consumer consumption by freeing up capital in the
economy and by relieving some of the pressure on domestic interest rates.
One growing concern among some policymakers is the rising amount of investment by foreign
governments in U.S. businesses, real estate, and portfolio assets (corporate stocks and bonds, and
U.S. Government securities). Such investments by foreign governments are bolstered by the
growing holdings of U.S. currency by foreign governments, known as sovereign wealth funds,
which are estimated to amount to more than $2.5 trillion.11 U.S. policy toward foreign investment
generally has been one of acceptance and openness. Investments by foreign governments,
however, are viewed by some as a new and different kind of investment that bears greater
scrutiny. Such investments by foreign governments are viewed by some as contrary to
longstanding U.S. policies which have encouraged foreign governments to shift away from
owning businesses enterprises and to support private ownership. For some observers, investments
by foreign governments also raise the potential for official interference into a broad range of
market activities. There is no evidence to date that ownership of various U.S. assets by foreign
governments, by itself, has affected the management of those assets or the markets in which they
exist in ways that differ from ownership by private foreign entities. Nevertheless, such concerns
likely helped motivate Congress to pass, and President Bush to sign on July 26, 2007 P.L. 110-49,
the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007, which increased congressional
oversight over acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign governments.
Some observers contend that a sharp decline in capital inflows or a sudden withdrawal of foreign
capital from the economy could spark a financial crisis. Congress likely would find itself
embroiled in any such financial crisis through its direct role in conducting fiscal policy and in its
indirect role in the conduct of monetary policy through its supervisory responsibility over the
Federal Reserve. Such a coordinated withdrawal seems highly unlikely, particularly since the vast
majority of the investors are private entities that presumably would find it difficult to coordinate a
withdrawal. Short of a financial crisis, events that cause foreign investors to curtail or limit their
purchases of U.S. securities likely would complicate efforts to finance budget deficits in the

11 Weisman, Steven R., A Fear of Foreign Investments. The New York Times, August 21, 2007.
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current environment without such foreign actions having an impact on U.S. interest rates,
domestic investment, and long-term rate of growth.

Author Contact Information

James K. Jackson

Specialist in International Trade and Finance
jjackson@crs.loc.gov, 7-7751


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