The Art of the Surplus
Germany’s persistently high – and, lately, rising – current-account surplus may not be on the official agenda of this week’s G20 summit in Hamburg, yet it is bound to provoke tensions among the assembled leaders. That's why some potentially damaging misconceptions about the external imbalance need to be addressed.
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BERLIN – Germany’s persistently high current-account surplus may not be on the official agenda of this week’s G20 summit in Hamburg, but it is bound to provoke tensions among the assembled leaders. After all, that surplus, which has long been a bone of contention for many of Germany’s trade partners, hit a new high of 8.3% of nominal GDP last year, with the surplus vis-à-vis the United States accounting for the largest share.