79. In the years 198l-1983, the correction in most debtor countrle6r e:(ternalimbalances tooh the form of lmport contractlon, lrh ich anounted to zz.e per cent forthese countriea as a t hole and 45.6 per cent for countries ln Latin America. rolDuring the aame period, their export earnings declineit by 5.5 per cent for thedebtor countries ag a group and 2.9 per cent for the btin Aoerlcan debtorcountriea. rt waa not until 1984 that, because of the extraordlnariry high inportdemand of the United sEates, mainly alue to that country.s expanslonary fiscalpolicy and an 'overvaluedtr dollar, a revlval of the debtor countrieE I e:aport6 tookplace. Export growth in lgg4, coopared eith the lo$ lovels of 19g3, anounted toI3.7 per cenE for the debtor countries as a nhole1 for Brazll it atrcunteal to2l'0 per cent. shourd a najor devaruation of the dorlar anat a curtarlnent ofUnited States inports take place eithout corq)ensatory changes ln other majorindustrial countrles in Europe or Japan, with or rrithout a surge of protectioniEtreactlon ln the United States agatnst foreign lorr-cost producerg r conpetitlon, iti6 doubtful that a continuinq high export giowth rate (much hlgher than thelnterest rate) could be oaintalned by the iebtor developlng coantrieg. Further,the export recovery in lgg4 faired to brlng about rising comoodity prices. Thiswas due partly to continuing hlgh lnterest rateg that diecourage ifre hotatnq otsbocks of rav msteriElst part.ly to the apparent xexce6a" of aupply capacity in oanyconflEdities, a result of the lnvestment undertaken during the inflationary r9z0stand partly to the sub'tttution agatnst comooditie' induced bogh by the reratlvePrice lncresses of the pagt decaale and by longer-term trendE in the composttion ofA!40!5l9 English page35 production. Theweakened balance-of-payments position ofthesupplying countries andtheirneedtoservice debtshaveledtoperverse increases indeliveries in spiteofweakening commodity prices, aspartoftheeconomic andsocialcosttobe paidbydebtorcountries incorrecting theircurrent account imbalances. 80.Thefactors thatledtothe1984recovery inthedebtorcountries' exports indicate thattheexportperformance of1984isnoreliable guideforfuture trends. Ontheimportside,thepossibility ofcontinued importcompression in futureyearsmaydependonwhether recovery indeveloping debtorcountries will encounter bottlenecks orinefficiencies requiring foreign inputsinconsiderable
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the economic situation of debtor countries, specifically their export performance, balance of payments, and the impact of external factors on their economy. It mentions the role of the US and other major industrial countries in the global economy and the potential consequences of changes in their economic policies. The text also touches on the concept of current account imbalances and the challenges faced by debtor countries in correcting them.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development