Next in the current account is services. Like most other countries, the United States buys services
from and sells services to other countries. For example, a U.S. firm shipping wheat to
England might purchase insurance from a British insurance company. A Dutch flower grower may
fly flowers to the United States aboard an American airliner. In the first case, the United States is
importing services and therefore using up foreign exchange; in the second case, it is selling services
to foreigners and earning foreign exchange. In 2009, the United States exported $138.4 billion
more in services than it imported.