As the US current account deficit has expanded to a record level of $811 billion in 2006, debate about the deficit's causes and consequences has also grown. Is the deficit a product of American profligacy or a 'glut of savings' in the rest of the world? Is it a serious problem or essentially benign? Untangling the US Deficit charts a course between the competing explanations in a systematic and rigorous approach, incorporating the latest academic research and market data. Particular attention is given to the China-United States trade imbalance and to the special role of the US dollar and US capital markets in global finance.This unique and well-researched book will be of great interest to academic economists and postgraduates. Policy-makers, business and market economists will also find it to be an enlightening and challenging account.