Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker
“Remember when Donald Trump was worried about our trade deficit? Yeah, that must have been days ago. But anyhow, as I and others have pointed out, the tuition and other expenses that foreign students pay to study at places like Harvard is a major source of foreign exchange earnings. Last year, we got more than $56 billion in revenue from these students. However, foreign students are not just a large current source of earnings; they have been a rapidly growing source. … In the 24 years from 2000 to 2024, revenue from foreign students more than quintupled from $9.7 billion to $56.3 billion. (These numbers are not adjusted for inflation.) By contrast, our exports of meat and dairy products didn’t quite quadruple. At $32.7 billion in 2024, they are considerably less important to the economy than the revenue from foreign students.” (06/02/25)