Which countries have been affected by the rise in the euro zone’s external surplus?

The euro zone’s external surplus has risen primarily because of the end of capital flows between the euro-zone countries, which has forced the peripheral euro-zone countries to depress their domestic demand so as to wipe out their external deficits. When we look at the major regions of the world, we see that the rise in the euro zone’s external surplus has been the counterpart of a deterioration in the foreign trade of the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom and Japan (but not of other countries). These countries have reason to complain about the euro zone’s institutional problems that have given rise to the zone’s external surplus.