A Look at the U.S. International Transactions

First Quarter of 2023

By Elliot Berg  |  July 14, 2023

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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 $3.1 billion, or 1.5 percent, to $219.3 billion in the first quarter of 2023 (chart 1 and table A). The revised fourth-quarter deficit was $216.2 billion.

The first-quarter deficit was 3.3 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product, up less than 0.1 percent from the fourth quarter.

The $3.1 billion widening of the current-account deficit in the first quarter primarily reflected an expanded deficit on secondary income and a reduced surplus on primary income that were partly offset by a reduced deficit on goods.

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

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Table A. U.S. International Transactions
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2022 2023 Change 2022:Q4 to 2023:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Current account            
Exports of goods and services and income receipts (credits) 1,035,977 1,110,418 1,140,187 1,138,053 1,154,032 15,979
Exports of goods and services 711,325 766,462 782,107 758,561 770,936 12,375
Goods 490,438 534,973 546,789 517,725 526,608 8,883
Services 220,887 231,489 235,318 240,836 244,329 3,493
Primary income receipts 280,000 298,649 312,696 326,508 338,567 12,059
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts 44,652 45,308 45,384 52,985 44,528 −8,457
Imports of goods and services and income payments (debits) 1,319,877 1,359,202 1,362,945 1,354,207 1,373,332 19,125
Imports of goods and services 987,325 1,017,404 992,820 972,093 971,932 −161
Goods 823,225 843,880 813,966 791,865 789,749 −2,116
Services 164,101 173,524 178,855 180,228 182,183 1,955
Primary income payments 251,196 256,486 273,204 288,414 307,271 18,857
Secondary income (current transfer) payments 81,355 85,313 96,920 93,700 94,129 429
Capital account            
Capital transfer receipts and other credits 43 8 8,327 23 43 20
Capital transfer payments and other debits 2,091 3,300 4,169 3,444 5,957 2,513
Financial account            
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 397,478 367,359 336,063 −260,318 −59,676 200,642
Direct investment assets 146,201 99,520 74,788 105,743 100,796 −4,947
Portfolio investment assets 191,963 239,508 271,824 −330,802 −263,269 67,533
Other investment assets 58,381 27,150 −11,346 −38,162 102,019 140,181
Reserve assets 932 1,181 797 2,903 778 −2,125
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 672,370 454,494 518,520 −80,707 265,366 346,073
Direct investment liabilities 126,531 73,273 121,427 66,847 118,673 51,826
Portfolio investment liabilities 264,362 384,377 262,475 −101,060 6,043 107,103
Other investment liabilities 281,476 −3,155 134,618 −46,494 140,650 187,144
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions 6,102 −45,911 −33,940 −6,949 −1,727 5,222
Statistical discrepancy            
Statistical discrepancy1 17,158 119,030 2,203 33,015 −101,556 −134,571
Balances            
Balance on current account −283,899 −248,784 −222,757 −216,154 −219,300 −3,146
Balance on goods and services −276,000 −250,942 −210,713 −213,532 −200,996 12,536
Balance on goods −332,786 −308,907 −267,176 −274,140 −263,141 10,999
Balance on services 56,787 57,965 56,463 60,608 62,145 1,537
Balance on primary income 28,804 42,163 39,492 38,094 31,296 −6,798
Balance on secondary income −36,704 −40,005 −51,536 −40,716 −49,600 −8,884
Balance on capital account −2,048 −3,292 4,158 −3,421 −5,913 −2,492
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from current- and capital-account transactions2 −285,948 −252,076 −218,599 −219,575 −225,213 −5,638
Net lending (+) or net borrowing (−) from financial-account transactions3 −268,790 −133,046 −216,396 −186,560 −326,769 −140,209
r
Revised
p
Preliminary

Table Footnotes

  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 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

 

Exports of goods and services to, and income received from, foreign residents increased $16.0 billion to $1.15 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 $19.1 billion to $1.37 trillion (charts 2 and 4 and tables A and C).1

Chart 2. Current-Account Transactions

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Trade in goods

Exports of goods increased $8.9 billion to $526.6 billion, reflecting increases in consumer goods, mostly medicinal, dental, and pharmaceutical products, and in other general merchandise, mostly goods transferred through the Presidential Drawdown Authority.2 Partly offsetting this increase was a decrease in industrial supplies and materials, mostly natural gas and petroleum and products. Imports of goods decreased $2.1 billion to $789.7 billion, reflecting a decrease in industrial supplies and materials, mainly petroleum and products and chemicals, that was partly offset by an increase in automotive vehicles, parts, and engines, mainly passenger cars and trucks, buses, and special purpose vehicles.

Trade in services

Exports of services increased $3.5 billion to $244.3 billion, and imports of services increased $2.0 billion to $182.2 billion. The increases in both exports and imports primarily reflected an increase in travel, mostly other personal travel.

Primary income

Receipts of primary income increased $12.1 billion to $338.6 billion, and payments of primary income increased $18.9 billion to $307.3 billion. The increases in both receipts and payments primarily reflected increases in other investment income, mostly interest on loans and deposits. These increases were mainly due to higher short-term interest rates amid the tightening of U.S. and foreign monetary policy.

Secondary income

Receipts of secondary income decreased $8.5 billion to $44.5 billion, reflecting a decrease in general government transfers, mainly fines and penalties. Payments of secondary income increased $0.4 billion to $94.1 billion, reflecting an increase in private transfers, mainly 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

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Table B. Exports of Goods and Services and Income Receipts
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2022 2023 Change 2022:Q4 to 2023:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Exports of goods and services and income receipts 1,035,977 1,110,418 1,140,187 1,138,053 1,154,032 15,979
Exports of goods 490,438 534,973 546,789 517,725 526,608 8,883
General merchandise 484,202 525,301 530,917 507,683 518,459 10,776
Foods, feeds, and beverages 44,056 49,023 44,791 42,036 44,332 2,296
Industrial supplies and materials 187,033 216,158 212,791 196,470 189,179 −7,291
Energy products 89,567 115,171 112,908 100,789 95,478 −5,311
Of which: Petroleum and products 72,462 90,093 86,404 79,391 76,828 −2,563
Nonenergy products 97,466 100,987 99,883 95,681 93,701 −1,980
Capital goods except automotive 138,582 141,242 146,369 146,859 148,563 1,704
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 37,338 39,283 41,063 41,969 43,487 1,518
Consumer goods except food and automotive 59,884 62,144 63,001 59,998 68,188 8,190
Other general merchandise 17,310 17,450 22,903 20,350 24,710 4,360
Net exports of goods under merchanting 309 225 308 232 247 15
Nonmonetary gold 5,927 9,447 15,564 9,810 7,902 −1,908
Exports of services1 220,887 231,489 235,318 240,836 244,329 3,493
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 3,223 3,625 3,753 3,867 3,954 87
Transport 20,534 23,376 23,446 23,599 24,059 460
Travel (for all purposes including education) 27,107 34,319 36,511 38,932 41,356 2,424
Business 5,469 6,988 7,479 8,057 8,517 460
Personal 21,639 27,331 29,032 30,875 32,839 1,964
Construction 404 482 409 359 253 −106
Insurance services 5,398 5,587 5,821 5,861 5,782 −79
Financial services 42,521 41,911 42,116 41,179 42,446 1,267
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 33,426 32,580 31,328 30,058 31,177 1,119
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 15,306 16,638 16,885 17,398 17,304 −94
Other business services 59,239 60,126 61,361 64,487 62,745 −1,742
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 6,686 7,150 6,598 6,395 6,775 380
Government goods and services n.i.e. 7,042 5,696 7,090 8,701 8,479 −222
Primary income receipts 280,000 298,649 312,696 326,508 338,567 12,059
Investment income 278,160 296,796 310,830 324,634 336,692 12,058
Direct investment income 152,050 161,019 163,605 164,024 163,565 −459
Income on equity 148,659 157,264 159,283 158,574 158,187 −387
Dividends and withdrawals 81,364 82,839 75,581 54,447 95,361 40,914
Reinvested earnings 67,295 74,425 83,702 104,128 62,826 −41,302
Interest 3,391 3,755 4,322 5,450 5,377 −73
Portfolio investment income 111,874 116,830 116,551 117,080 120,669 3,589
Income on equity and investment fund shares 76,329 79,112 76,402 76,726 79,480 2,754
Interest on debt securities 35,544 37,719 40,149 40,354 41,189 835
Other investment income 14,154 18,674 30,073 42,323 50,868 8,545
Reserve asset income 83 273 601 1,208 1,590 382
Compensation of employees 1,840 1,853 1,866 1,874 1,875 1
Secondary income (current transfer) receipts2 44,652 45,308 45,384 52,985 44,528 −8,457
r
Revised
p
Preliminary
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere

Table Footnotes

  1. See also International Services table 2.1 on the BEA website.
  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 tables 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

Table C. Imports of Goods and Services and Income Payments
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2022 2023 Change 2022:Q4 to 2023:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Imports of goods and services and income payments 1,319,877 1,359,202 1,362,945 1,354,207 1,373,332 19,125
Imports of goods 823,225 843,880 813,966 791,865 789,749 −2,116
General merchandise 811,819 837,957 810,025 787,004 784,503 −2,501
Foods, feeds, and beverages 51,696 53,981 51,814 52,084 51,704 −380
Industrial supplies and materials 197,081 216,087 204,712 189,498 179,009 −10,489
Energy products 78,045 92,994 89,600 79,477 76,986 −2,491
Of which: Petroleum and products 71,397 84,418 80,919 72,321 67,589 −4,732
Nonenergy products 119,036 123,093 115,112 110,021 102,023 −7,998
Capital goods except automotive 213,176 215,882 220,223 220,012 217,836 −2,176
Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines 95,243 99,073 101,858 103,734 109,689 5,955
Consumer goods except food and automotive 223,557 222,861 203,770 192,285 194,809 2,524
Other general merchandise 31,066 30,074 27,649 29,391 31,456 2,065
Nonmonetary gold 11,406 5,923 3,940 4,861 5,246 385
Imports of services1 164,101 173,524 178,855 180,228 182,183 1,955
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e. 1,287 1,384 1,418 1,572 1,739 167
Transport 36,009 41,689 41,546 38,396 36,601 −1,795
Travel (for all purposes including education) 22,178 28,290 31,118 33,726 37,125 3,399
Business 2,236 2,986 3,381 3,620 4,140 520
Personal 19,942 25,304 27,737 30,106 32,985 2,879
Construction 251 287 234 222 236 14
Insurance services 14,076 14,412 15,161 15,866 15,966 100
Financial services 13,358 13,534 14,772 16,050 15,257 −793
Charges for the use of intellectual property n.i.e. 16,582 12,432 12,265 11,963 11,605 −358
Telecommunications, computer, and information services 13,634 13,308 13,236 13,459 13,467 8
Other business services 33,293 34,260 35,522 34,988 36,112 1,124
Personal, cultural, and recreational services 7,124 7,555 7,283 7,644 7,776 132
Government goods and services n.i.e. 6,307 6,372 6,299 6,342 6,300 −42
Primary income payments 251,196 256,486 273,204 288,414 307,271 18,857
Investment income 245,512 250,725 267,301 282,281 300,737 18,456
Direct investment income 82,630 80,315 80,908 78,862 81,283 2,421
Portfolio investment income 144,947 146,739 147,849 148,829 154,087 5,258
Income on equity and investment fund shares 53,646 53,398 49,810 49,533 52,792 3,259
Interest on debt securities 91,301 93,341 98,039 99,296 101,295 1,999
Other investment income 17,935 23,672 38,544 54,590 65,367 10,777
Compensation of employees 5,684 5,761 5,903 6,133 6,534 401
Secondary income (current transfer) payments2 81,355 85,313 96,920 93,700 94,129 429
Supplemental detail on insurance transactions:            
Premiums paid 35,929 37,344 40,242 42,503 43,359 856
Losses recovered 26,767 26,942 35,145 26,626 26,603 −23
r
Revised
p
Preliminary
n.a.
Not available
n.i.e.
Not included elsewhere

Table Footnotes

  1. See also International Services table 2.1 on the BEA website.
  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 tables 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, and 5.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

Capital-transfer receipts increased $20 million to $43 million (table A). Capital-transfer payments increased $2.5 billion to $6.0 billion, reflecting an increase in infrastructure grants, mostly related to goods transferred through the Presidential Drawdown Authority.3

Net financial-account transactions were −$326.8 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents (table A).

Financial assets

First-quarter transactions decreased U.S. residents' foreign financial assets by $59.7 billion (charts 5 and 6 and table D). Transactions decreased portfolio investment assets, mainly equity, by $263.3 billion. Transactions increased other investment assets by $102.0 billion, as transactions increased loans and decreased deposits; direct investment assets, mostly equity, by $100.8 billion; and reserve assets by $0.8 billion.

Liabilities

First-quarter transactions increased U.S. liabilities to foreign residents by $265.4 billion. Transactions increased other investment liabilities, mostly loans and deposits, by $140.7 billion; direct investment liabilities, mostly equity, by $118.7 billion; and portfolio investment liabilities by $6.0 billion, as transactions increased long-term debt securities and decreased equity.

Financial derivatives

Net transactions in financial derivatives were −$1.7 billion in the first quarter, reflecting net U.S. borrowing from foreign residents.

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

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

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Table D. Net U.S. Acquisition of Financial Assets and Net U.S. Incurrence of Liabilities
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series 2022 2023 Change 2022:Q4 to 2023:Q1
Q1r Q2r Q3r Q4r Q1p
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets excluding financial derivatives (net increase in assets / financial outflow (+)) 397,478 367,359 336,063 −260,318 −59,676 200,642
Direct investment assets 146,201 99,520 74,788 105,743 100,796 −4,947
Equity 140,899 86,989 105,980 109,714 73,933 −35,781
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 73,605 12,564 22,278 5,586 11,107 5,521
Reinvestment of earnings 67,295 74,425 83,702 104,128 62,826 −41,302
Debt instruments 5,301 12,531 −31,192 −3,971 26,863 30,834
Portfolio investment assets 191,963 239,508 271,824 −330,802 −263,269 67,533
Equity and investment fund shares 88,903 197,228 163,858 −264,288 −274,957 −10,669
Debt securities 103,061 42,281 107,966 −66,514 11,688 78,202
Short-term securities −70,580 −32,013 28,401 −5,958 −7,225 −1,267
Long-term corporate securities 131,433 56,990 60,263 −46,689 12,224 58,913
Other long-term securities 42,208 17,304 19,302 −13,867 6,689 20,556
Other investment assets 58,381 27,150 −11,346 −38,162 102,019 140,181
Other equity 300 1,570 335 165 266 101
Currency and deposits 30,641 12,710 77,815 27,131 −56,098 −83,229
Loans 33,876 12,623 −90,578 −63,548 160,348 223,896
Trade credit and advances −6,436 248 1,083 −1,911 −2,498 −587
Reserve assets 932 1,181 797 2,903 778 −2,125
Monetary gold 0 0 0 0 0 0
Special drawing rights 1,517 1,521 704 1,223 969 −254
Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund −596 −366 131 1,652 −210 −1,862
Other reserve assets 11 26 −38 29 19 −10
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities excluding financial derivatives (net increase in liabilities / financial inflow (+)) 672,370 454,494 518,520 −80,707 265,366 346,073
Direct investment liabilities 126,531 73,273 121,427 66,847 118,673 51,826
Equity 76,220 90,897 94,365 73,985 114,340 40,355
Equity other than reinvestment of earnings 18,533 33,781 37,868 21,805 63,175 41,370
Reinvestment of earnings 57,687 57,116 56,497 52,180 51,164 −1,016
Debt instruments 50,311 −17,624 27,061 −7,138 4,334 11,472
Portfolio investment liabilities 264,362 384,377 262,475 −101,060 6,043 107,103
Equity and investment fund shares −116,585 298,518 −5,289 −246,432 −102,779 143,653
Debt securities 380,947 85,859 267,764 145,372 108,822 −36,550
Short-term securities 77,692 −135,993 73,949 43,710 −7,466 −51,176
Treasury bills and certificates 20,988 −112,961 24,173 30,378 12,633 −17,745
Federally sponsored agency securities 248 3,479 3,175 3,719 3,764 45
Other short-term securities 56,456 −26,511 46,601 9,613 −23,863 −33,476
Long-term securities 303,255 221,851 193,815 101,662 116,288 14,626
Treasury bonds and notes 191,242 141,228 105,860 16,692 102,341 85,649
Federally sponsored agency securities −12,247 82,713 44,290 67,563 12,521 −55,042
Corporate bonds and notes 117,952 −4,002 42,127 17,772 2,749 −15,023
Other long-term securities 6,308 1,912 1,538 −365 −1,323 −958
Other investment liabilities 281,476 −3,155 134,618 −46,494 140,650 187,144
Other equity n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
Currency 17,425 2,909 3,463 11,247 6,807 −4,440
Deposits 97,826 3,924 26,058 −24,098 56,131 80,229
Loans 164,376 −17,030 101,151 −37,079 73,826 110,905
Trade credit and advances 1,849 7,041 3,945 3,435 3,885 450
Special drawing rights allocations 0 0 0 0 0 0
r
Revised
p
Preliminary
n.a.
Not available

Note. The statistics are presented in tables 1.2, 6.1, 7.1, and 8.1 of the International Transactions Accounts Interactive Data Application on the BEA website.

The U.S. international transactions statistics for the first quarter of 2017 through the fourth quarter of 2022 have been updated to incorporate newly available and revised source data and recalculated seasonal adjustments (table E). For more information, see the Survey of Current Business article “Annual Update of the U.S. International Transactions Accounts.”

Table E. Updates to Fourth-Quarter 2022 International Transactions Aggregates
[Millions of dollars, seasonally adjusted]
Series Preliminary estimates Revised estimates
Balance on current account −206,805 −216,154
Balance on goods −272,351 −274,140
Balance on services 67,334 60,608
Balance on primary income 39,330 38,094
Balance on secondary income (current transfers) −41,119 −40,716
Net lending or borrowing from financial-account transactions −127,479 −186,560
Net U.S. acquisition of financial assets −264,613 −260,318
Net U.S. incurrence of liabilities −144,083 −80,707
Financial derivatives other than reserves, net transactions −6,949 −6,949

Footnotes

  1. U.S. international transactions are presented in current dollars in accordance with international statistical presentation guidelines. For a comparison of current-dollar, or nominal, and inflation-adjusted, or real, measures of international transactions, see “SECTION 4 – FOREIGN TRANSACTIONS” of the National Income and Product Accounts.
  2. For more information, see “Preview of the 2023 Annual Update of the International Economic Accounts” in the Survey of Current Business.
  3. See footnote 2 above.