U.S. International Transactions

Fourth Quarter and Year 2020

By Rudy Telles Jr.  |  Volume 101, Number 4  |  April 19, 2021

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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 $7.6 billion, or 4.2 percent, to $188.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 (chart 1 and table A). The revised third-quarter deficit was $180.9 billion.

The deficit was 3.5 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP), up from 3.4 percent in the third quarter.

The $7.6 billion widening of the current-account deficit in the fourth quarter primarily reflected an expanded deficit on goods and a reduced surplus on services that were partly offset by a reduced deficit on secondary income.

The U.S. current-account deficit widened by $167.0 billion, or 34.8 percent, to $647.2 billion in 2020. The deficit was 3.1 percent of current-dollar GDP, up from 2.2 percent in 2019.

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 2020 Change 2020:Q3 to 2020:Q4
Q1 r Q2 r Q3 r Q4 p
Current account          
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 892,561 695,812 799,227 840,007 40,780
Exports of goods and services 600,844 449,899 520,928 555,583 34,655
Goods 402,910 288,103 356,613 387,502 30,889
Services 197,934 161,796 164,315 168,081 3,766
Primary income receipts 256,618 212,032 241,270 248,394 7,124
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 35,100 33,881 37,029 36,031 −998
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 1,007,123 859,060 980,143 1,028,492 48,349
Imports of goods and services 730,474 610,586 712,326 755,568 43,242
Goods 596,591 509,581 604,067 640,459 36,392
Services 133,883 101,005 108,258 115,109 6,851
Primary income payments 204,466 178,690 193,051 200,533 7,482
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 72,183 69,784 74,766 72,391 −2,375
Capital account          
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 19 20 355 11 −344
Capital transfer payments and other debits 2,990 1,074 1,027 1,344 317
Financial account          
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 830,146 −258,224 41,768 149,788 108,020
Direct investment assets −9,777 41,894 103,631 17,509 −86,122
Portfolio investment assets 115,814 −947 153,270 82,077 −71,193
Other investment assets 724,354 −304,131 −216,953 47,764 264,717
Reserve assets −245 4,960 1,820 2,438 618
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 952,851 −63,529 199,620 414,804 215,184
Direct investment liabilities 52,746 −191 88,521 71,319 −17,202
Portfolio investment liabilities −20,547 342,240 136,924 301,354 164,430
Other investment liabilities 920,653 −405,578 −25,825 42,130 67,955
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −21,611 −12,744 28,425 2,633 −25,792
Statistical discrepancy          
Statistical discrepancy1 −26,784 −43,137 52,161 −72,566 −124,727
Balances          
Balance on current account −114,561 −163,248 −180,917 −188,484 −7,567
Balance on goods and services −129,630 −160,687 −191,398 −199,985 −8,587
Balance on goods −193,681 −221,478 −247,454 −252,957 −5,503
Balance on services 64,051 60,791 56,056 52,972 −3,084
Balance on primary income 52,152 33,342 48,218 47,861 −357
Balance on secondary income −37,083 −35,903 −37,737 −36,361 1,376
Balance on capital account −2,971 −1,054 −672 −1,333 −661
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −117,533 −164,303 −181,588 −189,817 −8,229
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from financial-account transactions3 −144,317 −207,440 −129,427 −262,383 −132,956
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 International Transactions Accounts table 1.2 on BEA's website.

Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents increased $40.8 billion, to $840.0 billion, in the fourth quarter (charts 2 and 3 and table B). Imports of goods and services from, and income paid to, foreign residents increased $48.3 billion, to $1.03 trillion (charts 2 and 4 and table C).

Chart 2. Current-Account Transactions

[Click chart to expand]

Trade in goods

Exports of goods increased $30.9 billion, to $387.5 billion, and imports of goods increased $36.4 billion, to $640.5 billion. The increases in both exports and imports reflected increases in nearly all major categories. The increase in exports was led by industrial supplies and materials and capital goods, and the increase in imports was led by industrial supplies and materials; automotive vehicles, parts, and engines; and consumer goods.

Trade in services

Exports of services increased $3.8 billion, to $168.1 billion, mainly reflecting increases in travel, primarily other personal travel, and in transport, mostly air freight and air passenger transport. Imports of services increased $6.9 billion, to $115.1 billion, mostly reflecting increases in travel, primarily other personal travel, and in transport, primarily sea freight transport.

Primary income

Receipts of primary income increased $7.1 billion, to $248.4 billion, and payments of primary income increased $7.5 billion, to $200.5 billion. The increases in both receipts and payments mainly reflected increases in direct investment income, mostly earnings, and in portfolio investment income, mostly income on equity securities.

Secondary income

Receipts of secondary income decreased $1.0 billion, to $36.0 billion, reflecting a decrease in private transfers, mostly private-sector fines and penalties, that was partly offset by an increase in general government transfers, primarily taxes on income and wealth. Payments of secondary income decreased $2.4 billion, to $72.4 billion, reflecting decreases in private transfers, mostly private-sector fines and penalties, and in general government transfers, mostly international cooperation.

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

[Click chart to expand]

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 2020 Change 2020:Q3 to 2020:Q4
Q1 Q2 Q3 r Q4 p
Exports of goods and services and income receipts 892,561 695,812 799,227 840,007 40,780
Exports of goods 402,910 288,103 356,613 387,502 30,889
General merchandise 398,008 282,789 349,571 379,949 30,378
Foods, feeds, and beverages 33,242 31,612 34,801 40,071 5,270
Industrial supplies and materials 133,921 92,419 108,105 120,563 12,458
Energy products 58,771 30,827 39,068 43,230 4,162
Of which: Petroleum and products 50,819 24,684 32,744 33,892 1,148
Nonenergy products 75,150 61,592 69,037 77,333 8,296
Capital goods except automotive 131,794 99,048 111,693 118,052 6,359
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 37,413 15,121 36,457 38,209 1,752
Consumer goods except food and automotive 46,832 33,327 44,964 48,945 3,981
Other general merchandise 14,806 11,262 13,552 14,108 556
Net exports of goods under merchanting 151 169 175 244 69
Nonmonetary gold 4,750 5,145 6,867 7,309 442
Exports of services1 197,934 161,796 164,315 168,081 3,766
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. 4,168 3,607 2,973 2,844 −129
Transport 20,327 10,825 12,071 13,587 1,516
Travel (for all purposes including education) 35,373 12,765 10,825 12,791 1,966
Business 6,589 1,636 1,976 2,528 552
Personal 28,783 11,129 8,849 10,262 1,413
Construction 588 519 619 544 −75
Insurance services 3,819 3,702 4,562 4,576 14
Financial services 33,664 33,695 35,032 34,643 −389
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 28,327 26,884 28,808 30,026 1,218
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 13,441 13,677 13,718 13,929 211
Other business services 47,383 46,598 45,675 45,079 −596
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 4,982 4,147 4,223 4,267 44
Government goods and services n.i.e. 5,861 5,376 5,808 5,795 −13
Primary income receipts 256,618 212,032 241,270 248,394 7,124
Investment income 254,938 210,564 239,768 246,878 7,110
Direct investment income 120,010 104,532 132,791 137,403 4,612
Income on equity 114,276 99,456 127,901 132,544 4,643
Dividends and withdrawals 113,684 75,113 56,092 97,262 41,170
Reinvested earnings 592 24,343 71,809 35,282 −36,527
Interest 5,734 5,076 4,889 4,859 −30
Portfolio investment income 109,726 89,026 91,774 94,805 3,031
Income on equity and investment fund shares 74,988 58,376 60,245 62,866 2,621
Interest on debt securities 34,737 30,650 31,528 31,939 411
Other investment income 25,054 16,941 15,160 14,673 −487
Reserve asset income 149 65 44 −3 −47
Compensation of employees 1,680 1,468 1,502 1,516 14
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts2 35,100 33,881 37,029 36,031 −998
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) receipts include U.S. government and private transfers, such as fines and penalties, withholding taxes, 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.

Table C. Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2020 Change 2020:Q3 to 2020:Q4
Q1 Q2 Q3 r Q4 p
Imports of goods and services and income payments 1,007,123 859,060 980,143 1,028,492 48,349
Imports of goods 596,591 509,581 604,067 640,459 36,392
General merchandise 590,395 476,539 589,677 632,421 42,744
Foods, feeds, and beverages 38,658 36,821 40,047 39,983 −64
Industrial supplies and materials 121,463 89,689 103,141 115,084 11,943
Energy products 47,892 22,729 30,806 35,085 4,279
Of which: Petroleum and products 45,148 20,057 27,901 31,375 3,474
Nonenergy products 73,571 66,960 72,335 79,999 7,664
Capital goods except automotive 162,279 146,561 165,686 174,911 9,225
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 87,851 41,033 85,786 96,725 10,939
Consumer goods except food and automotive 151,632 141,096 168,756 178,971 10,215
Other general merchandise 28,513 21,339 26,260 26,747 487
Nonmonetary gold 6,196 33,042 14,390 8,038 −6,352
Imports of services1 133,883 101,005 108,258 115,109 6,851
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. 1,558 1,341 1,579 1,547 −32
Transport 22,865 13,612 16,142 18,970 2,828
Travel (for all purposes including education) 22,497 2,387 4,027 6,866 2,839
Business 2,888 291 627 903 276
Personal 19,609 2,096 3,400 5,963 2,563
Construction 315 246 245 284 39
Insurance services 14,104 14,737 16,078 16,633 555
Financial services 10,053 9,702 9,582 9,459 −123
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 11,191 9,032 10,197 10,262 65
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 9,901 9,310 9,394 9,569 175
Other business services 29,633 28,628 28,668 28,861 193
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 5,666 5,868 6,220 6,456 236
Government goods and services n.i.e. 6,101 6,141 6,126 6,204 78
Primary income payments 204,466 178,690 193,051 200,533 7,482
Investment income 199,849 175,430 189,517 196,502 6,985
Direct investment income 43,410 33,372 49,105 53,474 4,369
Portfolio investment income 127,424 120,245 121,793 124,680 2,887
Income on equity and investment fund shares 45,336 41,315 42,132 45,010 2,878
Interest on debt securities 82,088 78,929 79,661 79,670 9
Other investment income 29,014 21,813 18,619 18,349 −270
Compensation of employees 4,617 3,261 3,535 4,031 496
Secondary income (current transfer) payments2 72,183 69,784 74,766 72,391 −2,375
           
Supplemental detail on insurance transactions:          
Premiums paid 32,738 33,798 36,749 37,234 485
Losses recovered 19,115 18,892 18,973 18,947 −26
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 receipts decreased $344 million, to $11 million, in the fourth quarter (table A). Third-quarter transactions reflected the U.S. Department of State’s sale of a property in Hong Kong. Capital-transfer payments increased $0.3 billion, to $1.3 billion, reflecting an increase in investment grants.

Net financial-account transactions were −$262.4 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.

Financial assets

Fourth-quarter transactions increased U.S. residents’ foreign financial assets by $149.8 billion (charts 5 and 6 and table D). Transactions increased portfolio investment assets, primarily debt securities, by $82.1 billion; other investment assets by $47.8 billion, resulting from large and partly offsetting transactions in loans and deposits; direct investment assets, primarily equity, by $17.5 billion; and reserve assets by $2.4 billion.

Liabilities

Fourth-quarter transactions increased U.S. liabilities to foreign residents by $414.8 billion. Transactions increased portfolio investment liabilities, mostly equity securities, by $301.4 billion; direct investment liabilities, primarily equity, by $71.3 billion; and other investment liabilities, mostly currency and deposits, by $42.1 billion.

Financial derivatives

Net transactions in financial derivatives were $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter, reflecting net 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 2020 Change 2020:Q3 to 2020:Q4
Q1 Q2 Q3 r Q4 p
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 830,146 −258,224 41,768 149,788 108,020
Direct investment assets −9,777 41,894 103,631 17,509 −86,122
Equity 14,908 50,587 79,528 29,672 −49,856
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 14,316 26,243 7,719 −5,611 −13,330
Reinvestment of earnings 592 24,343 71,809 35,282 −36,527
Debt instruments −24,685 −8,693 24,104 −12,162 −36,266
Portfolio investment assets 115,814 −947 153,270 82,077 −71,193
Equity and investment fund shares 279,965 −67,540 92,247 −4,982 −97,229
Debt securities −164,151 66,593 61,023 87,058 26,035
Short-term securities −73,206 21,807 20,320 34,957 14,637
Long-term corporate securities −69,619 34,197 30,653 40,833 10,180
Other long-term securities −21,326 10,589 10,050 11,268 1,218
Other investment assets 724,354 −304,131 −216,953 47,764 264,717
Other equity 1,298 10 215 324 109
Currency and deposits 539,992 −312,539 −131,026 −44,633 86,393
Loans 187,829 8,485 −84,382 88,656 173,038
Trade credit and advances −4,765 −87 −1,761 3,417 5,178
Reserve assets −245 4,960 1,820 2,438 618
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 49 20 5 7 2
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −327 4,902 1,785 2,454 669
Other reserve assets 33 38 29 −23 −52
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 952,851 −63,529 199,620 414,804 215,184
Direct investment liabilities 52,746 −191 88,521 71,319 −17,202
Equity 45,263 29,919 42,073 87,641 45,568
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 27,540 20,290 11,854 53,422 41,568
Reinvestment of earnings 17,723 9,630 30,219 34,219 4,000
Debt instruments 7,482 −30,110 46,449 −16,322 −62,771
Portfolio investment liabilities −20,547 342,240 136,924 301,354 164,430
Equity and investment fund shares 263,713 64,646 138,882 258,482 119,600
Debt securities −284,261 277,595 −1,958 42,872 44,830
Short term −10,748 343,807 −53,415 −12,331 41,084
Treasury bills and certificates 13,452 311,348 −23,560 10,017 33,577
Federally sponsored agency securities −4,708 −1,634 −5,920 16 5,936
Other short-term securities −19,492 34,093 −23,935 −22,364 1,571
Long term −273,513 −66,212 51,456 55,203 3,747
Treasury bonds and notes −300,497 −201,698 66,406 49,590 −16,816
Federally sponsored agency securities 56,721 −57,017 −56,133 8,462 64,595
Corporate bonds and notes −27,992 184,769 40,730 −3,681 −44,411
Other −1,745 7,734 453 832 379
Other investment liabilities 920,653 −405,578 −25,825 42,130 67,955
Other equity n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a
Currency 26,014 29,399 36,861 29,051 −7,810
Deposits 481,772 −271,073 −40,941 32,821 73,762
Loans 409,408 −167,278 −23,398 −25,338 −1,940
Trade credit and advances 3,459 3,374 1,653 5,596 3,943
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 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 third quarter have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data (table E). In addition, the statistics for the first three quarters of 2020 have been updated to align the seasonally adjusted statistics with annual totals.

Table E. Updates to the Third-Quarter 2020 International Transactions Aggregates
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series Preliminary Estimates Revised Estimates
Balance on current account −178,513 −180,917
Balance on goods −245,565 −247,454
Balance on services 57,158 56,056
Balance on primary income 48,108 48,218
Balance on secondary income (current transfers) −38,213 −37,737
Net lending or borrowing from financial-account transactions −221,071 −129,427
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets −73,048 41,768
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities 172,022 199,620
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions 23,999 28,425

The $167.0 billion widening of the current-account deficit in 2020 mostly reflected reduced surpluses on primary income and on services and an expanded deficit on goods (chart 7).

Chart 7. Annual U.S. Current-Account Balance and Its Components

[Click chart to expand]

Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents decreased $578.3 billion, to $3.23 trillion in 2020. Imports of goods and services from, and income paid to, foreign residents decreased $411.3 billion, to $3.87 trillion (charts 8 and 9 and table F).

Trade in goods

Exports of goods decreased $217. 3 billion, to $1.44 trillion, mainly reflecting decreases in capital goods, mostly civilian aircraft, engines, and parts, and in industrial supplies and materials, mostly petroleum and products. Imports of goods decreased $166.1 billion, to $2.35 trillion, mainly reflecting decreases in industrial supplies and materials, mostly petroleum and products, and in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines, mainly passenger cars, that were partly offset by an increase in nonmonetary gold.

Trade in services

Exports of services decreased $183.7 billion, to $692.1 billion, and imports of services decreased $130.1 billion, to $458.3 billion. The decreases in both exports and imports mainly reflected decreases in travel, mostly other personal travel, and in transport, mostly air passenger transport.

Primary income

Receipts of primary income decreased $177.4 billion, to $958.3 billion, mostly reflecting decreases in direct investment income, mostly earnings; in other investment income, primarily interest on loans and deposits; and in portfolio investment income, mostly income on equity securities. Payments of primary income decreased $122.6 billion, to $776.7 billion, mostly reflecting decreases in direct investment income, mostly earnings, and in other investment income, primarily interest on loans and deposits.

Secondary income

Receipts of secondary income increased $0.1 billion, to $142.0 billion, reflecting an increase in private transfers, mostly insurance-related transfers, that was mostly offset by a decrease in general government transfers, mostly government-sector fines and penalties. Payments of secondary income increased $7.4 billion, to $289.1 billion, reflecting increases in private transfers, mostly insurance-related transfers, and in general government transfers, primarily international cooperation.

Chart 8. Annual Percent Change in Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts

[Click chart to expand]

Chart 9. Annual Percent Change in Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments

[Click chart to expand]

Table F. Current Account
[Millions of dollars]
Series 2017 2018 2019 2020 p Change 2019 to 2020
Current account          
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 3,542,008 3,792,867 3,805,938 3,227,607 −578,331
Exports of goods 1,557,003 1,676,950 1,652,437 1,435,128 −217,309
Foods, feeds, and beverages 132,761 133,129 131,103 139,726 8,623
Industrial supplies and materials 459,380 537,038 526,843 455,009 −71,834
Capital goods except automotive 533,696 563,375 548,111 460,586 −87,525
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 157,867 158,836 162,468 127,200 −35,268
Consumer goods except food and automotive 197,190 205,524 205,028 174,068 −30,960
Other general merchandise 54,357 56,833 59,127 53,727 −5,400
Net exports of goods under merchanting 210 270 435 739 304
Nonmonetary gold 21,544 21,945 19,323 24,072 4,749
Exports of services 830,388 862,433 875,825 692,126 −183,699
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. 23,239 27,948 27,868 13,592 −14,276
Transport 86,342 93,251 91,092 56,810 −34,282
Travel (for all purposes including education) 193,834 196,465 193,315 71,754 −121,561
Construction 2,053 2,948 3,189 2,271 −918
Insurance services 18,223 17,904 16,238 16,660 422
Financial services 128,035 132,420 135,698 137,034 1,336
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 118,147 118,875 117,401 114,046 −3,355
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 47,657 49,653 55,657 54,766 −891
Other business services 167,270 177,261 189,441 184,735 −4,706
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 25,664 23,759 23,372 17,619 −5,753
Government goods and services n.i.e. 19,924 21,949 22,555 22,840 285
Primary income receipts 997,524 1,108,472 1,135,691 958,314 −177,377
Direct investment income 561,051 587,855 578,075 494,736 −83,339
Portfolio investment income 355,337 412,496 426,407 385,331 −41,076
Other investment income 74,404 100,837 123,611 71,827 −51,784
Reserve asset income 385 632 873 255 −618
Compensation of employees 6,347 6,652 6,725 6,166 −559
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 157,094 145,012 141,984 142,040 56
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 3,907,277 4,242,560 4,286,163 3,874,818 −411,345
Imports of goods 2,356,345 2,557,251 2,516,767 2,350,698 −166,069
Foods, feeds, and beverages 138,825 148,331 151,560 155,508 3,948
Industrial supplies and materials 508,645 580,696 525,864 429,377 −96,487
Capital goods except automotive 642,864 694,656 681,051 649,437 −31,614
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 359,118 372,368 376,804 311,395 −65,409
Consumer goods except food and automotive 603,470 648,441 655,930 640,456 −15,474
Other general merchandise 90,739 101,566 113,607 102,859 −10,748
Nonmonetary gold 12,685 11,193 11,953 61,666 49,713
Imports of services 544,836 562,069 588,359 458,256 −130,103
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. 6,796 7,133 7,823 6,025 −1,798
Transport 96,515 106,303 107,458 71,588 −35,870
Travel (for all purposes including education) 117,972 126,008 134,594 35,777 −98,817
Construction 1,950 3,151 1,327 1,090 −237
Insurance services 50,889 43,735 51,547 61,552 10,005
Financial services 36,649 39,249 40,350 38,797 −1,553
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 44,405 43,933 42,733 40,681 −2,052
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 43,091 42,558 43,720 38,174 −5,546
Other business services 106,991 107,834 113,584 115,790 2,206
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 17,530 19,190 21,140 24,211 3,071
Government goods and services n.i.e. 22,047 22,975 24,083 24,572 489
Primary income payments 739,731 857,298 899,347 776,740 −122,607
Direct investment income 210,745 245,383 248,791 179,361 −69,430
Portfolio investment income 445,886 488,207 495,604 494,142 −1,462
Other investment income 66,205 106,590 136,167 87,795 −48,372
Compensation of employees 16,895 17,117 18,785 15,443 −3,342
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 266,365 265,943 281,689 289,124 7,435
Balances          
Balance on current account −365,269 −449,693 −480,226 −647,210 −166,984
Balance on goods −799,343 −880,301 −864,331 −915,570 −51,239
Balance on services 285,552 300,364 287,466 233,870 −53,596
Balance on primary income 257,793 251,174 236,344 181,574 −54,770
Balance on secondary income −109,272 −120,931 −139,705 −147,084 −7,379
p
Preliminary
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere

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

Net financial-account transactions were −$743.6 billion in 2020, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents (table G).

Financial assets

Transactions in 2020 increased U.S. residents’ foreign financial assets by $763.5 billion. Transactions increased portfolio investment assets, mostly equity, by $350.2 billion; other investment assets, mostly loans, by $251.0 billion; direct investment assets, mainly equity, by $153.3 billion; and reserve assets by $9.0 billion.

Liabilities

Transactions in 2020 increased U.S. liabilities to foreign residents by $1.50 trillion. Transactions increased portfolio investment liabilities, mainly equity securities, by $760.0 billion; other investment liabilities, primarily deposits, loans, and currency, by $531.4 billion; and direct investment liabilities, mostly equity, by $212.4 billion.

Financial derivatives

Net transactions in financial derivatives were −$3.3 billion in 2020, reflecting net borrowing from foreign residents.

Table G. Capital and Financial Accounts and Statistical Discrepancy
[Millions of dollars]
Series 2017 2018 2019 2020 p Change 2019 to 2020
Capital account          
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 19,200 3,286 67 406 339
Capital transfer payments and other debits 6,805 7,482 6,311 6,435 124
Financial account          
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 1,188,188 358,971 440,751 763,477 322,726
Direct investment assets 405,375 −151,298 188,469 153,257 −35,212
Equity 392,160 −218,115 173,537 174,694 1,157
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 41,979 72,008 17,442 42,667 25,225
Reinvestment of earnings 350,181 −290,123 156,095 132,026 −24,069
Debt instruments 13,215 66,817 14,932 −21,437 −36,369
Portfolio investment assets 569,375 335,263 46,570 350,213 303,643
Equity and investment fund shares 139,940 171,300 −191,306 299,689 490,995
Debt securities 429,435 163,963 237,876 50,524 −187,352
Short term 191,685 14,298 167,565 3,878 −163,687
Long term 237,751 149,665 70,311 46,646 −23,665
Other investment assets 215,127 170,017 201,053 251,033 49,980
Currency and deposits 173,372 106,078 132,600 51,793 −80,807
Loans 34,827 61,431 66,116 200,589 134,473
Trade credit and advances 5,422 1,179 970 −3,197 −4,167
Reserve assets −1,690 4,989 4,659 8,974 4,315
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 78 156 237 81 −156
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −1,812 4,824 4,271 8,814 4,543
Other reserve assets 44 10 150 78 −72
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 1,546,281 758,291 797,960 1,503,746 705,786
Direct investment liabilities 366,996 261,480 351,629 212,396 −139,233
Equity 302,046 344,269 290,311 204,896 −85,415
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 199,818 199,068 142,991 113,105 −29,886
Reinvestment of earnings 102,228 145,201 147,320 91,791 −55,529
Debt instruments 64,950 −82,789 61,318 7,499 −53,819
Portfolio investment liabilities 790,796 303,075 179,980 759,972 579,992
Equity and investment fund shares 149,633 156,916 −244,069 725,723 969,792
Debt securities 641,163 146,159 424,049 34,248 −389,801
Short term 11,840 30,462 −43,158 267,314 310,472
Long term 629,323 115,697 467,207 −233,066 −700,273
Other investment liabilities 388,489 193,736 266,350 531,379 265,029
Currency and deposits 217,677 12,825 204,101 323,904 119,803
Loans 156,395 164,968 52,402 193,394 140,992
Trade credit and advances 14,417 15,943 9,847 14,082 4,235
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 0 0 0
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions 23,998 −20,404 −38,340 −3,297 35,043
Statistical discrepancy          
Statistical discrepancy1 18,779 34,165 90,921 −90,326 −181,247
Balances          
Balance on capital account 12,394 −4,196 −6,244 −6,030 214
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −352,875 −453,890 −486,470 −653,240 −166,770
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from financial-account transactions3 −334,095 −419,724 −395,549 −743,566 −348,017
p
Preliminary
  1. The statistical discrepancy is the difference between net acquisition of 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-account balance (table G) and capital-account balance.
  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 International Transactions Accounts table 1.2 and table 6.1 on BEA's website.