The Department of Commerce has just released new data on U.S. foreign indebtedness. The market value of foreign-owned assets here now exceeds the value of U.S.-owned assets abroad by $1.3 trillion -- an increase of more than $1 trillion since Bill Clinton took office (see figure). In other words, the U.S. is now in debt to the rest of the world to the tune of almost $5,000 for every man, woman and child in America.

This rising indebtedness is due to the increasing trade deficit. In 1991, the trade deficit was $74 billion. By 1997, it had ballooned to $198 billion -- meaning we bought almost $200 billion more goods from foreigners than they bought from us. Including services, such as receipts from travel and tourism, the U.S. has gone from a $31 billion deficit in 1991 to $110 billion last year.

The broadest measure of America's international economic position is called the balance on current account, which includes investment income as well as goods and services.

• Last year, for the first time, Americans earned less on their foreign invesers on their investments here; thus the U.S. received $242 billion but paid out $247 billion, for a deficit of just over $5 billion.

• By contrast, in 1991 the U.S. received $22 billion more than it paid out.

• As a consequence, the U.S. current account deficit has grown from just $4 billion in 1991 to more than $155 billion in 1997.

The vast bulk of the income generated by foreign investment accrues to Americans in the form of wages, taxes and so on. But if our foreign indebtedness continues to rise in the future, eventually it will reduce the standard of living for all Americans.