U.S. International Transactions

First Quarter 2022

By Rudy Telles Jr.  |  Volume 102, Number 7  |  July 17, 2022

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The U.S. current-account deficit, which reflects the combined balances on trade in goods and services and income flows between U.S. residents and residents of other countries, widened by $66.6 billion, or 29.6 percent, to $291.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022 (chart 1 and table A). The revised fourth-quarter deficit was $224.8 billion.

The first-quarter deficit was 4.8 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, up from 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

The $66.6 billion widening of the current-account deficit in the first quarter mostly reflected an increased deficit on goods.

Chart 1. U.S. Current-Account Balance and Its Components

[Click chart to expand]

Table A. U.S. International Transactions
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2021 2022 Change 2021:Q4 to 2022:Q1
II r III r IV r I p
Current account          
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 929,394 952,285 1,001,171 1,026,911 25,740
Exports of goods and services 630,247 641,582 686,479 704,642 18,163
Goods 435,556 441,893 473,521 487,422 13,901
Services 194,691 199,688 212,959 217,220 4,261
Primary income receipts 256,960 267,976 271,520 278,624 7,104
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 42,187 42,727 43,173 43,645 472
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 1,135,795 1,178,660 1,226,009 1,318,329 92,320
Imports of goods and services 833,962 860,724 911,479 988,412 76,933
Goods 702,985 714,472 758,540 829,669 71,129
Services 130,977 146,251 152,939 158,743 5,804
Primary income payments 228,932 234,408 234,527 245,227 10,700
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 72,901 83,528 80,003 84,690 4,687
Capital account          
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 9 3,819 13 28 15
Capital transfer payments and other debits 890 828 1,857 2,074 217
Financial account          
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 296,073 466,485 49,404 343,108 293,704
Direct investment assets 180,545 87,710 64,912 115,200 50,288
Portfolio investment assets 173,874 305,649 −106,715 203,116 309,831
Other investment assets −58,823 −39,476 88,194 23,859 −64,335
Reserve assets 477 112,603 3,013 932 −2,081
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 428,362 676,601 230,257 626,362 396,105
Direct investment liabilities 116,823 161,484 97,255 93,543 −3,712
Portfolio investment liabilities 146,867 200,804 −61,631 239,004 300,635
Other investment liabilities 164,672 314,312 194,633 293,815 99,182
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −8,611 −7,980 −23,095 5,762 28,857
Statistical discrepancy          
Statistical discrepancy1 66,382 5,289 22,734 15,972 −6,762
Balances          
Balance on current account −206,402 −226,375 −224,837 −291,418 −66,581
Balance on goods and services −203,715 −219,142 −225,000 −283,770 −58,770
Balance on goods −267,429 −272,579 −285,019 −342,247 −57,228
Balance on services 63,714 53,437 60,020 58,477 −1,543
Balance on primary income 28,027 33,568 36,993 33,397 −3,596
Balance on secondary income −30,714 −40,800 −36,831 −41,045 −4,214
Balance on capital account −881 2,990 −1,844 −2,046 −202
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −207,282 −223,384 −226,681 −293,464 −66,783
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from financial-account transactions3 −140,900 −218,096 −203,948 −277,492 −73,544
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
  1. The statistical discrepancy is the difference between net acquisition of financial assets and net incurrence of liabilities in the financial account (including financial derivatives) less the difference between total credits and total debits recorded in the current and capital accounts.
  2. Sum of current- and capital-account balances.
  3. Sum of net U.S. acquisition of financial assets and net transactions in financial derivatives less net U.S. incurrence of liabilities.

Note. The statistics are presented in table 1.2 on BEA's website.

Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents increased $25.7 billion to $1.03 trillion in the first quarter (charts 2 and 3 and tables A and B). Imports of goods and services from, and income paid to, foreign residents increased $92.3 billion to $1.32 trillion (charts 2 and 4 and tables A and C).

Chart 2. Current-Account Transactions

[Click chart to expand]

Trade in goods

Exports of goods increased $13.9 billion to $487.4 billion, mostly reflecting an increase in industrial supplies and materials, primarily petroleum and products. Imports of goods increased $71.1 billion to $829.7 billion, reflecting widespread increases in consumer goods, in industrial supplies and materials, and in capital goods.

Trade in services

Exports of services increased $4.3 billion to $217.2 billion, mainly reflecting increases in government goods and services n.i.e. (not included elsewhere), in other business services, primarily professional and management consulting services, and in travel, led by other personal travel. Imports of services increased $5.8 billion to $158.7 billion, mainly reflecting increases in transport, mostly sea freight transport, and in charges for the use of intellectual property, primarily licenses for the use of outcomes of research and development (such as patents and trade secrets).

Primary income

Receipts of primary income increased $7.1 billion to $278.6 billion, and payments of primary income increased $10.7 billion to $245.2 billion. The increases in both receipts and payments mostly reflected an increase in portfolio investment income, primarily equity securities and interest on long-term debt securities.

Secondary income

Receipts of secondary income increased $0.5 billion to $43.6 billion, mostly reflecting an increase in general government transfers, primarily taxes on income and wealth. Payments of secondary income increased $4.7 billion to $84.7 billion, reflecting increases in general government transfers, mostly international cooperation, and in private transfers, mostly insurance-related transfers.

Chart 3. Percent Change in Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts

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Chart 4. Percent Change in Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments

[Click chart to expand]

Table B. Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2021 2022 Change 2021:Q4 to 2022:Q1
II r III r IV r I p
Exports of goods and services and income receipts 929,394 952,285 1,001,171 1,026,911 25,740
Exports of goods 435,556 441,893 473,521 487,422 13,901
General merchandise 427,268 434,603 466,835 481,296 14,461
Foods, feeds, and beverages 40,772 38,432 44,085 44,326 241
Industrial supplies and materials 151,958 158,428 171,104 184,245 13,141
Energy products 63,114 68,286 79,352 87,172 7,820
Of which: Petroleum and products 51,070 53,070 62,146 70,899 8,753
Nonenergy products 88,844 90,142 91,752 97,073 5,321
Capital goods except automotive 131,760 130,800 134,784 138,700 3,916
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 35,095 34,398 37,131 37,564 433
Consumer goods except food and automotive 52,625 57,671 63,305 59,547 −3,758
Other general merchandise 15,058 14,874 16,427 16,913 486
Net exports of goods under merchanting 212 234 175 199 24
Nonmonetary gold 8,077 7,056 6,510 5,928 −582
Exports of services1 194,691 199,688 212,959 217,220 4,261
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 3,132 3,302 3,146 3,259 113
Transport 15,890 16,508 18,969 19,718 749
Travel (for all purposes including education) 15,618 17,412 23,856 25,099 1,243
Business 3,070 3,333 4,583 5,037 454
Personal 12,549 14,079 19,274 20,062 788
Construction 728 825 860 614 −246
Insurance services 5,432 5,905 6,012 5,996 −16
Financial services 42,449 43,442 43,714 43,052 −662
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 30,427 31,080 32,646 32,071 −575
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 14,642 14,696 16,044 15,599 −445
Other business services 54,408 54,829 55,708 57,426 1,718
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 6,203 5,970 5,912 5,771 −141
Government goods and services n.i.e. 5,764 5,720 6,091 8,615 2,524
Primary income receipts 256,960 267,976 271,520 278,624 7,104
Investment income 255,243 266,244 269,774 276,865 7,091
Direct investment income 144,353 147,463 145,836 146,696 860
Income on equity 140,667 143,856 142,309 143,281 972
Dividends and withdrawals 51,853 74,744 37,632 93,662 56,030
Reinvested earnings 88,814 69,112 104,676 49,619 −55,057
Interest 3,686 3,607 3,527 3,415 −112
Portfolio investment income 96,347 104,031 108,943 115,431 6,488
Income on equity and investment fund shares 63,883 69,840 73,342 76,796 3,454
Interest on debt securities 32,464 34,191 35,601 38,636 3,035
Other investment income 14,496 14,980 14,961 14,654 −307
Reserve asset income 47 −231 35 83 48
Compensation of employees 1,717 1,732 1,746 1,759 13
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts2 42,187 42,727 43,173 43,645 472
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere
  1. See also International Services table 2.1.

Note. The statistics are presented in International Transactions Accounts table 1.2, table 2.1, table 3.1, table 4.1, and table 5.1 on BEA's website.

Table C. Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2021 2022 Change 2021:Q4 to 2022:Q1
II r III r IV r I p
Imports of goods and services and income payments 1,135,795 1,178,660 1,226,009 1,318,329 92,320
Imports of goods 702,985 714,472 758,540 829,669 71,129
General merchandise 696,418 709,165 751,544 818,264 66,720
Foods, feeds, and beverages 46,047 47,169 48,452 52,067 3,615
Industrial supplies and materials 155,851 168,378 180,547 197,144 16,597
Energy products 56,209 63,162 69,555 78,351 8,796
Of which: Petroleum and products 51,726 57,674 63,684 71,170 7,486
Nonenergy products 99,642 105,216 110,992 118,793 7,801
Capital goods except automotive 189,878 192,318 199,334 215,024 15,690
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 87,083 83,781 86,467 94,813 8,346
Consumer goods except food and automotive 188,953 186,690 202,203 228,146 25,943
Other general merchandise 28,607 30,829 34,541 31,070 −3,471
Nonmonetary gold 6,567 5,307 6,996 11,406 4,410
Imports of services1 130,977 146,251 152,939 158,743 5,804
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 1,921 1,991 2,020 2,041 21
Transport 24,620 28,610 31,403 34,595 3,192
Travel (for all purposes including education) 11,782 17,286 19,840 20,232 392
Business 1,411 1,861 2,047 2,120 73
Personal 10,371 15,425 17,794 18,112 318
Construction 350 327 448 354 −94
Insurance services 14,302 15,294 15,646 15,542 −104
Financial services 11,808 12,732 13,546 13,307 −239
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 10,550 11,976 10,966 13,870 2,904
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 10,631 10,609 11,438 11,394 −44
Other business services 31,552 34,016 34,047 34,030 −17
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 7,146 7,086 7,300 7,052 −248
Government goods and services n.i.e. 6,315 6,325 6,284 6,325 41
Primary income payments 228,932 234,408 234,527 245,227 10,700
Investment income 224,660 229,864 229,966 240,145 10,179
Direct investment income 80,119 80,487 78,483 81,148 2,665
Portfolio investment income 127,718 131,247 133,377 141,229 7,852
Income on equity and investment fund shares 46,413 47,072 48,228 52,084 3,856
Interest on debt securities 81,305 84,175 85,149 89,145 3,996
Other investment income 16,824 18,130 18,105 17,769 −336
Compensation of employees 4,272 4,544 4,561 5,081 520
Secondary income (current transfer) payments2 72,901 83,528 80,003 84,690 4,687
           
Supplemental detail on insurance transactions:          
Premiums paid 35,536 39,023 40,097 41,217 1,120
Losses recovered 25,969 29,480 25,407 25,300 −107
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere
  1. See also International Services table 2.1.
  2. Secondary income (current transfer) payments include U.S. government and private transfers, such as U.S. government grants and pensions, fines and penalties, withholding taxes, personal transfers (remittances), insurance-related transfers, and other current transfers.

Note. The statistics are presented in International Transactions Accounts table 1.2, table 2.1, table 3.1, table 4.1, and table 5.1 on BEA's website.

Capital-transfer payments increased $0.2 billion to $2.1 billion in the first quarter, mostly reflecting an increase in U.S. government investment grants (table A).

Net financial-account transactions were −$277.5 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.

Financial assets

First-quarter transactions increased U.S. residents' foreign financial assets by $343.1 billion (charts 5 and 6 and table D). Transactions increased portfolio investment assets, mainly long-term debt securities and equity, by $203.1 billion; direct investment assets, primarily equity, by $115.2 billion; other investment assets, primarily loans, by $23.9 billion; and reserve assets by $0.9 billion.

Liabilities

First-quarter transactions increased U.S. liabilities to foreign residents by $626.4 billion. Transactions increased other investment liabilities, mostly loans and deposits, by $293.8 billion; portfolio investment liabilities by $239.0 billion, resulting from large and partly offsetting transactions in debt and equity securities; and direct investment liabilities, mostly equity, by $93.5 billion.

Financial derivatives

Net transactions in financial derivatives were $5.8 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. lending to foreign residents.

Chart 5. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Incurrence of Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

[Click chart to expand]

Chart 6. Transactions in Financial Assets and Liabilities Excluding Financial Derivatives

[Click chart to expand]

Table D. Net U.S. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Net U.S. Incurrence of Liabilities
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2021 2022 Change 2021:Q4 to 2022:Q1
II r III r IV r I p
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 296,073 466,485 49,404 343,108 293,704
Direct investment assets 180,545 87,710 64,912 115,200 50,288
Equity 127,908 70,211 142,683 118,612 −24,071
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 39,094 1,099 38,007 68,994 30,987
Reinvestment of earnings 88,814 69,112 104,676 49,619 −55,057
Debt instruments 52,636 17,498 −77,771 −3,412 74,359
Portfolio investment assets 173,874 305,649 −106,715 203,116 309,831
Equity and investment fund shares 101,664 112,252 −153,474 111,457 264,931
Debt securities 72,210 193,397 46,759 91,660 44,901
Short-term securities 55,661 3,280 −49,821 −70,340 −20,519
Long-term corporate securities 10,141 144,071 67,355 125,858 58,503
Other long-term securities 6,408 46,046 29,225 36,142 6,917
Other investment assets −58,823 −39,476 88,194 23,859 −64,335
Other equity 0 37 0 0 0
Currency and deposits −85,911 −36,617 76,553 1,348 −75,205
Loans 30,169 −2,378 10,079 28,739 18,660
Trade credit and advances −3,081 −518 1,563 −6,228 −7,791
Reserve assets 477 112,603 3,013 932 −2,081
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 4 112,838 835 1,517 682
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund 437 11 2,169 −596 −2,765
Other reserve assets 36 −247 9 11 2
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 428,362 676,601 230,257 626,362 396,105
Direct investment liabilities 116,823 161,484 97,255 93,543 −3,712
Equity 88,427 116,731 102,069 67,314 −34,755
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 32,419 58,951 45,554 9,901 −35,653
Reinvestment of earnings 56,008 57,779 56,515 57,412 897
Debt instruments 28,396 44,754 −4,814 26,229 31,043
Portfolio investment liabilities 146,867 200,804 −61,631 239,004 300,635
Equity and investment fund shares 34,237 129,615 −279,938 −137,438 142,500
Debt securities 112,630 71,189 218,307 376,441 158,134
Short term −64,607 7,882 53,110 76,998 23,888
Treasury bills and certificates −50,852 −2,765 59,028 20,988 −38,040
Federally sponsored agency securities −1,746 954 309 248 −61
Other short-term securities −12,009 9,693 −6,227 55,762 61,989
Long term 177,237 63,307 165,198 299,444 134,246
Treasury bonds and notes 185,388 79,256 145,684 193,165 47,481
Federally sponsored agency securities 5,879 −24,449 16,934 −12,649 −29,583
Corporate bonds and notes −13,522 7,504 2,124 112,060 109,936
Other −508 996 456 6,868 6,412
Other investment liabilities 164,672 314,312 194,633 293,815 99,182
Other equity n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a
Currency 12,650 7,321 18,284 17,425 −859
Deposits 50,289 166,191 −30,744 118,041 148,785
Loans 98,753 25,629 197,963 156,068 −41,895
Trade credit and advances 2,980 2,336 9,129 2,282 −6,847
Special drawing rights allocations 0 112,834 0 0 0
p
Preliminary
r
Revised
n.a.
Not available

Note. The statistics are presented in International Transactions Accounts table 1.2, table 6.1, table 7.1, and table 8.1 on BEA's website.

The U.S. international transactions statistics for the first quarter of 2012 through the fourth quarter of 2021 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data and updated seasonal adjustments (table E). For more information, see “Annual Update of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts” in this issue of the Survey of Current Business.

Table E. Updates to the Fourth-Quarter 2021 International Transactions Aggregates
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series Preliminary estimates Revised estimates
Balance on current account −217,880 −224,837
Balance on goods −283,446 −285,019
Balance on services 54,476 60,020
Balance on primary income 44,246 36,993
Balance on secondary income (current transfers) −33,156 −36,831
Net lending or borrowing from financial-account transactions −133,616 −203,948
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets 113,623 49,404
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities 224,377 230,257
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −22,861 −23,095