As of summer 2002 the U.S. Treasury is pursuing the same strategy of“benign neglect” for its balance-of-payments deficit that it did thirty years ago. The deficit that caused a global crisis in 1971 when its $10 billion rate led to a 10 per cent dollar devaluation has now risen to hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and is still rising. Treasury Secretary O’Neill says he is not worried and that the situation does not call for any action, at least not on the part of the United States. This confronts Europe and Asia with a dilemma. If they let the U.S. payments deficit drag the dollar down, this will give U.S. exporters a price advantage. To protect their own producers, central banks must support the dollar’s exchange rate by recycling their surplus dollars back to the United States. This option obliges them to buy U.S. Government securities, as U.S.diplomats have made it clear that to buy control of U.S. companies or even to return to gold would be viewed as an unfriendly act. 

从2002年夏天开始，美国财政部对其国际收支赤字采取了与30年前相同的“良性忽视”策略。1971年，100亿美元的汇率导致10%的美元贬值，导致了一场全球性危机。现在，赤字已上升到每年数千亿美元，而且还在不断上升。美国财政部长奥尼尔说，他并不担心，目前的形势不需要采取任何行动，至少美国方面不需要采取任何行动。这使欧洲和亚洲陷入两难境地。如果他们让美国的支付赤字拖累美元下跌，这将给美国出口商带来价格优势。为了保护本国的生产者，各国央行必须通过将盈余美元回收到美国来支持美元汇率。这一选择迫使他们购买美国政府债券。外交官们已经明确表示，购买美国公司的控制权，甚至重返黄金市场，将被视为不友好的行为。