- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S.
debt owed to foreign governments, central banks, private banks and other
investors topped $6 trillion in the quarter ended June 30, the Treasury
Department said on Wednesday.
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- Of that, about $1.270 trillion in principal and another
$53.73 billion in interest is due within the next 3 months, according to
a new report on the U.S. external debt position issued by Treasury.
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- "The overall magnitude of U.S. indebtedness to foreigners
and some of the major components are already well known. This presentation
provides more detail," Treasury said in announcing it was publishing
quarterly data on external debt, broken down by type of creditor, how the
debt is denominated and the expected payment schedule.
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- The report shows the extent to which the United States
remains dependent on foreign investment. Even for an economy totaling $10.803
trillion annually, the $6.357 trillion in external debt is a hefty 58.8
percent of gross domestic product.
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- By comparison, the U.S. government takes in about $2
trillion annually in taxes and fees, and the anticipated 2003 budget gap
of around $400 billion would be about 3.7 percent of the overall economy.
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- Treasury said it was publishing the report as part of
an effort to come into compliance with the Special Data Dissemination System
guidelines issued by the International Monetary Fund to encourage transparency
in global finance. The report can be found at http://www.treas.gov/tic/external-debt.html.
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