Global imbalances were identified in the 2000s as a potential weakness in the internatioal monetary system, but they had a long legacy. The Bretton Woods meeting in 1944 to design the international monetary system, the United States managed to scupper Keynes’ proposal for symmetric penalties on surplus and deficit countries in the pursuit of global balance. Expecting to be in balance of payments surplus, the US ensured that the onus of adjustment would be on deficit countries. Yet by the early 1960s, the US position deteriorated and American negotiators began to struggle to force countries with current account surpluses (and corresponding US deficits) to appreciate their currencies or otherwise adopt expansionary policies. This tension between persistent surplus and deficit economies has persisted despite liberalisation of capital flows and greater flexibility in exchange rates. This session will examine historical instances of such policy debates and disagreements between deficit and surplus countries through the 20th century.