Global imbalances The first thing to keep in mind about global imbalances is their scale. The U.S. current account deficit is enormous - on the order of $ billion or 6-1/2 percent of gross domestic product - and it is not likely to shrink substantially in the immediate future, given the current configuration of economic activity and prices around the world.
Obviously, the U.S. deficit has as a counterpart an equal current account surplus in the rest of the world combined, after allowance for gaps in the statistical reporting system. The size and persistence of these imbalances reflects two interrelated forces.