America’s current-account deficit was approaching 3% of GDP; and its top four competitors had massive surpluses and negative GDP growth. In order to correct these imbalances, the five countries signed the Plaza Accord, in which they agreed to intervene in currency markets to devalue the dollar.
1980至1985年，美元相对日本、西德、法国和英国货币升值了50%；美国经常项目赤字接近GDP的3%；而其最主要的四大竞争者出现了巨大的盈余和GDP负增长。为了纠正这些失衡，五国签署了广场协定，同意干预货币市场以使美元贬值。