US direct investment abroad drop $62.3 billion last year: report

Published: July 25, 2019 15:36:20 | Updated: August 11, 2019 19:54:07

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US direct investment abroad dropped at the end of last year while foreign direct investment in the United States increased, according to statistics released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).

The US direct investment abroad position, or cumulative level of investment, decreased $62.3 billion to $5.95 trillion at the end of 2018, according to data from BEA statistics published on Wednesday.

"The decrease was due to the repatriation of accumulated prior earnings by US multinationals from their foreign affiliates, largely in response to the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," said BEA.

Even though US multinational enterprises invest across the globe, the largest US direct investment abroad was in the Netherlands with a position of $883.2 billion, followed by Britain, Luxembourg, Ireland and Canada.

Besides, the official data showed that foreign direct investment in the United States position rose $319.1 billion to $4.34 trillion at the end of 2018, reports Xinhua.

Britain remained the top investing country in the United States with a position of $560.9 billion, followed by Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.