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Tweet[IWS] CRS: THE UNITED STATES AS A NET DEBTOR NATION: OVERVIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT POSITION [17 December 2013]
IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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Congressional Research Service (CRS)
The United States as a Net Debtor Nation: Overview of the International Investment Position
James K. Jackson, Specialist in International Trade and Finance
December 17, 2013
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32964.pdf
[full-text, 20 pages]
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.
Contents
Background ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Valuing Investments ......................................................................................................................... 3
Investment Patterns .......................................................................................................................... 6
International Investment: Sources and Economic Impact.............................................................. 10
Congressional Response ................................................................................................................ 15
Figures
Figure 1. U.S. Direct Investment Abroad: Estimated Value of Accumulated Position, 1990-2012.................................................... 5
Figure 2. Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Estimated Value of Accumulated Position, 1990-2012........................... 6
Figure 3. U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and Foreign–Owned Assets in the United States, 1994-2012 ............................................. 7
Figure 4. Foreign Official and Private Investment Positions in the United States, 1994- 2012 .................................................... 9
Figure 5. U.S. and Foreign Investment Position, By Major Component, 2012 ............................. 10
Figure 6. U.S. Income Receipts and Payments on U.S.-Owned Assets Abroad and on Foreign-Owned Assets in the United States, 2012.............. 14
Tables
Table 1. U.S. Net International Investment Position........................................................................ 1
Table 2. U.S. International Investment Status .................................................................................. 8
Table 3. Saving and Investment in Selected Countries and Areas; 2008-2012, and 2013 (est.) ............................................ 12
Table 4. Estimates of Wealth in the United States, 2012 Current-Cost, Gross Stock Values ......... 15
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 17
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