US Foreign Capital Inflows Jump to More Than $300 Billion in May

The increase comes amid the U.S. government’s push to make the United States an attractive investment destination.

A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell in New York City on April 21, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Net foreign capital inflows into the United States surged in May from the previous month as investors poured billions of dollars into the American economy, the Treasury Department said in a July 17 statement.

The sum total of all net foreign acquisitions in the United States stood at $311.1 billion in May, according to the Treasury. This includes acquisitions of long-term and short-term U.S. securities. In April, there was a $14.2 billion outflow of funds.

The $311.1 billion figure is the highest among all months of 2025 and the second-highest of the past 12 months, marking strong confidence in the American economy among international investors.

In the first four full months under the Trump administration, February to May, three saw net foreign acquisitions of about $250 billion per month.

This is a big change from the February to May period under the Biden administration in 2024, when the monthly net foreign acquisitions were below $100 billion, except in March 2024, when it hit $104 billion.

Both foreign and U.S. residents increased their holdings in long-term U.S. securities in May, with net purchases jumping by $318.5 billion and $59.1 billion, respectively—an indication of an expected long-term stability in the U.S. economy.

The higher level of net foreign acquisitions over the past months came amid the Trump administration’s push to boost U.S. investments and manufacturing.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the U.S. Investment Accelerator, meant to “facilitate and accelerate” investments above $1 billion, the White House said in a March 31 fact sheet.

The initiative focuses on attracting investments through measures such as cutting down regulatory burdens, speeding up permitting, and increasing access to national resources.

“An Investment Accelerator is needed to cut through red tape and ensure that businesses can quickly deploy capital and create jobs without navigating a maze of bureaucratic hurdles,” the White House stated at the time.

“By streamlining processes, the Accelerator will attract both foreign and domestic investment, reinforcing America’s position as the premier destination for large-scale investment.”

Major international companies have announced multibillion-dollar investments in the United States in recent months.

On March 5, Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC announced that it planned on investing $100 billion more in advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, taking the company’s total investments in the country to $165 billion.

Switzerland-based medical company Roche unveiled a $50 billion investment in the United States in April that will include funds for new state-of-the-art research and development sites.

In the automotive sector, South Korean company Hyundai announced a $21 billion investment in America over the period of 2025 to 2028 in March.

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump administration was reworking deals previously made with semiconductor companies under the CHIPS Act for better terms.

The CHIPS Act was passed in 2022 and allocated $53 billion in federal incentives for boosting the country’s semiconductor sector.

Lutnick highlighted TSMC raising its investment by $100 billion.

“We’re getting more value for the same dollars,” he said. “Are we renegotiating? Absolutely, for the benefit of the American taxpayer, for sure.”

During a July 15 roundtable discussion at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, Trump announced about $92 billion in investments in the state across industries such as energy, manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.

“Today’s commitments guarantee that the future will be designed and built right here in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, and I must say, in America,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) highlighted the need for bipartisan cooperation to push America forward.

“In our different parties, we have plenty of differences, but on this, we agree,” he said. “We agree that we need to be at the crossroads of the energy revolution, the AI revolution, and to have a leadership position. We need to show a unified front at the local level, at the state level, at the national level.”