Such needs for rebalancing are sometimes presented in overly simplistic terms, namely that surplus countries should reduce savings and deficit countries should increase them, mainly through consolidation of public finances. The attempt to translate this into target ranges for current account deficits or surpluses failed at the Seoul Summit. The question is a complex one because it is not sufficient to change savings’ behaviour.
The solution also has to involve movements in the exchange rate, as explained by John Williamson when he denied the  4  BIS Review 167/2010  possibility of an “immaculate transfer”. 5 In fact, the reduction of domestic savings implies a positive change in the capital balance, which requires a necessary negative development in the current account.