Invisible Imports

Source: Encyclopedia of Banking & Finance (9h Edition) by Charles J Woelfel
(We recommend this as work of authority and you can order it here)

Such items in a country's international balance of payments as transportation charges, travel expenditures, payment of interest and dividends on investments, private remittances, and purchase of miscellaneous services, in and to foreign countries.  By contrast, the visible imports are merchandise imports on current trade account.

For the U.S., in recent post-World War II years, private transportation items have usually been net credits by small margins, travel expenditures and private remittances abroad have been net debits by large margins, and private income from investments has yielded large net credits.  Private long-term net capital investment, however, reflecting large-scale investment by U.S. firms abroad, has resulted in recent years in large debits, offset to some extent by net credits from buildup of foreign short-term balances in the U.S.

U.S. government accounts, reflecting military aid payments to allies, other grants and payments, and expenditures by U.S. military forces abroad, have resulted in large debits, both during World War II and in post-World War II years.

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