Volume 59 · 512
Public Law 79–339
To provide for the participation of the United States in the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Approved July 31, 1945
Statutory text
AN ACT
To provide for the participation of the United States in the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. short title
This Act may be cited as the “Bretton Woods Agreements Act”.
Sec. 2. acceptance of membership
The President is hereby authorized to accept membership for the United States in the International Monetary Fund (hereinafter
“Fund.”
referred to as the “Fund”), and in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter referred to as the
“Bank.”
“Bank”), provided for by the Articles of Agreement of the Fund and the Articles of Agreement of the Bank as set forth in the Final Act of the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference dated July 22, 1944, and deposited in the archives of the Department of State.
Sec. 3. appointment of governors, executive directors, and alternates
Dual functions of appointees.
The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint a governor of the Fund who shall also serve as a governor of the Bank, and an executive director of the Fund and an executive director of the Bank. The executive directors so appointed shall also serve as provisional executive directors of the
Terms of office.
Fund and the Bank for the purposes of the respective Articles of Agreement. The term of office for the governor of the Fund and of the Bank shall be five years. The term of office for the executive directors shall be two years, but the executive directors shall remain in office until their successors have been appointed.
The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint an alternate for the governor of the Fund who shall also serve as alternate for the governor of the Bank. The President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint an alternate for each of the executive directors. The alternate for each executive
Terms of office.
director shall be appointed from among individuals recommended to the President by the executive director. The terms of office for alternates for the governor and the executive directors shall be the same as the terms specified in subsection (a) for the governor and executive directors.
Compensation.
No person shall be entitled to receive any salary or other compensation from the United States for services as a governor, executive director, or alternate.
Sec. 4. national advisory council on international monetary and financial problems
Establishment.
In order to coordinate the policies and operations of the representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank and of all agencies of the Government which make or participate in making foreign loans or which engage in foreign financial, exchange or monetary transactions, there is hereby established the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Problems
Composition.
(hereinafter referred to as the “Council”), consisting of the Secretary of the Treasury, as Chairman, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Export-Import Bank of Washington.
The Council, after consultation with the representatives
Recommendations.
of the United States on the Fund and the Bank, shall recommend to the President general policy directives for the guidance of the representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank.
The Council shall advise and consult with the President and the representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank on major problems arising in the administration of the Fund and the Bank.
The Council shall coordinate, by consultation or otherwise, so
Coordination of policies and operations.
far as is practicable, the policies and operations of the representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank, the Export- Import Bank of Washington and all other agencies of the Government to the extent that they make or participate in the making of foreign loans or engage in foreign financial, exchange or monetary transactions.
Whenever, under the Articles of Agreement of the Fund or
Decisions on acts requiring approval of U. S.
the Articles of Agreement of the Bank, the approval, consent or agreement of the United States is required before an act may be done by the respective institutions, the decision as to whether such approval, consent, or agreement, shall be given or refused shall (to the extent such decision is not prohibited by section 5 of this Act) be made by the Council, under the general direction of the President. No governor, executive director, or alternate representing the United
Restriction on voting.
States shall vote in favor of any waiver of condition under article V, section 4, or in favor of any declaration of the United States dollar as a scarce currency under article VII, section 3, of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, without prior approval of the Council.
The Council from time to time, but not less frequently than
Periodic reports.
every six months, shall transmit to the President and to the Congress a report with respect to the participation of the United States in the Fund and the Bank.
The Council shall also transmit to the President and to the
Special reports.
Congress special reports on the operations and policies of the Fund and the Bank, as provided in this paragraph. The first report shall be made not later than two years after the establishment of the Fund and the Bank, and a report shall be made every two years after the making of the first report. Each such report shall cover and include:
Scope.
The extent to which the Fund and the Bank have achieved the purposes for which they were established; the extent to which the operations and policies of the Fund and the Bank have adhered to, or departed from, the general policy directives formulated by the Council, and the Council’s recommendations in connection therewith; the extent to which the operations and policies of the Fund and the Bank have been coordinated, and the Council’s recommendations in connection therewith; recommendations on whether the resources of the Fund and the Bank should be increased or decreased; recommendations as to how the Fund and the Bank may be made more effective; recommendations on any other necessary or desirable changes in the Articles of Agreement of the Fund and of the Bank or in this Act; and an over-all appraisal of the extent to which the operations and policies of the Fund and the Bank have served, and in the future may be expected to serve, the interests of the United States and the world in promoting sound international economic cooperation and furthering world security.
The Council shall make such reports and recommendations to the President as he may from time to time request, or as the Council may consider necessary to more effectively or efficiently accomplish the purposes of this Act or the purposes for which the Council is created.
Information concerning activities of designated agencies.
The representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank, and the Export-Import Bank of Washington (and all other agencies of the Government to the extent that they make or participate in the making of foreign loans or engage in foreign financial, exchange or monetary transactions) shall keep the Council fully informed of their activities and shall provide the Council with such further information or data in their possession as the Council may deem necessary to the appropriate discharge of its responsibilities under this Act.
Sec. 5. certain acts not to be taken without authorization
Unless Congress by law authorizes such action, neither the President nor any person or agency shall on behalf of the United States (a) request or consent to any change in the quota of the United States under article III, section 2, of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund; (b) propose or agree to any change in the par value of the United States dollar under article IV, section 5, or article XX, section 4, of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, or approve any general change in par values under article IV, section 7; (c) subscribe to additional shares of stock under article II, section 3, of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank; (d) accept any amendment under article XVII of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund or article VIII of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank; (e) make any loan to the Fund or the Bank. Unless Congress by law authorizes such action, no governor or alternate appointed to represent the United States shall vote for an increase of capital stock of the Bank under article II, section 2, of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank.
Sec. 6. depositories
Any Federal Reserve bank which is requested to do so by the Fund or the Bank shall act as its depository or as its fiscal agent, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall supervise and direct the carrying out of these functions by the Federal Reserve banks.
Sec. 7. payment of subscriptions
Subsection (c) of section 10 of the Gold Reserve Act of 1934, as amended (U. S. C., title 31, sec. 822a), is amended to read as follows:
“(c) Fund.
The Secretary of the Treasury is directed to use $1,800,000,000 of the fund established in this section to pay part of the subscription of the United States to the International Monetary Fund; and any repayment thereof shall be covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous receipt.”
Payment of balance.
The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to pay the balance of $950,000,000 of the subscription of the United States to the Fund
Bank.
not provided for in subsection (a) and to pay the subscription of the United States to the Bank from time to time when payments are
Use of U. S. securities.
required to be made to the Bank. For the purpose of making these payments, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a public-debt transaction not to exceed $4,125,000,000 of the proceeds
31 U. S. C. § 774 (2); Supp. IV, § 754a et seq.
Ante, pp. 47, 48, 59.
of any securities hereafter issued under the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under that Act are extended to include such purpose. Payment under this subsection of the subscription of the United States to the Fund or the Bank and repayments thereof shall be treated as public-debt transactions of the United States.
For the purpose of keeping to a minimum the cost to the
Issuance of special notes.
United States of participation in the Fund and the Bank, the Secretary of the Treasury, after paying the subscription of the United States to the Fund, and any part of the subscription of the United States to the Bank required to be made under article II, section 7 (i), of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank, is authorized and directed to issue special notes of the United States from time to time at par and to deliver such notes to the Fund and the Bank in exchange for dollars to the extent permitted by the respective Articles of Agreement. The special notes provided for in this subsection shall be
Interest, etc.
issued under the authority and subject to the provisions of the Second Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securities
31 U. S. C. § 774 (2); Supp. IV, § 764a et seq.
Ante, pp. 47, 48, 59.
may be issued under that Act are extended to include the purposes for which special notes are authorized and directed to be issued under this subsection, but such notes shall bear no interest, shall be nonnegotiable, and shall be payable on demand of the Fund or the Bank, as the case may be. The face amount of special notes issued to the
Limitation on amount.
Fund under the authority of this subsection and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of the subscription of the United States actually paid to the Fund, and the face amount of such notes issued to the Bank and outstanding at any one time shall not exceed in the aggregate the amount of the subscription of the United States actually paid to the Bank under article II, section 7 (i), of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank.
Any payment made to the United States by the Fund or the Bank as a distribution of net income shall be covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous receipt.
Sec. 8. obtaining and furnishing information
Whenever a request is made by the Fund to the United States as a member to furnish data under article VIII, section 5, of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, the President may, through any agency he may designate, require any person to furnish such information as the President may determine to be essential to comply with such request. In making such determination the President shall seek to collect the information only in such detail as is necessary to comply with the request of the Fund. No information so acquired shall be furnished to the Fund in such detail that the affairs of any person are disclosed.
In the event any person refuses to furnish such information
Enforcement procedure.
when requested to do so, the President, through any designated governmental agency, may by subpoena require such person to appear and testify or to appear and produce records and other documents, or both. In case of contumacy by, or refusal to obey a subpoena served upon any such person, the district court for any district in which such person is found or resides or transacts business, upon application by the President or any governmental agency designated by him, shall have jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person to appear and give testimony or appear and produce records and documents, or both; and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof.
It shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the Government,
Unlawful disclosure.
or for any advisor or consultant to the Government, to disclose, otherwise than in the course of official duty, any information obtained under this section, or to use any such information for his personal benefit. Whoever violates any of the provisions of this subsection
Penalty.
shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both.
The term “person” as used in this section means an individual,
“Person.”
partnership, corporation or association.
Sec. 9. financial transactions with foreign governments in default
Johnson Debt Default Act, amendment.
The Act entitled “An Act to prohibit financial transactions with any foreign government in default on its obligations to the United States”, approved April 13, 1934 (U. S. C., title 31, sec. 804a), is amended by adding at the end thereof a new section to read as follows:
“Sec. 3.
Sale or purchase of bonds, etc.
While any foreign government is a member both of the International Monetary Fund and of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, this Act shall not apply to the sale or purchase of bonds, securities, or other obligations of such government or any political subdivision thereof or of any organization or association acting for or on behalf of such government or political
Loans.
subdivision, or to the making of any loan to such government, political subdivision, organization, or association.”
Sec. 10. jurisdiction and venue of actions
For the purpose of any action which may be brought within the United States or its Territories or possessions by or against the Fund or the Bank in accordance with the Articles of Agreement of the Fund or the Articles of Agreement of the Bank, the Fund or the Bank, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be an inhabitant of the Federal judicial district in which its principal office in the United States is located, and any such action at law or in equity to which either the Fund or the Bank shall be a party shall be deemed to arise under the laws of the United States, and the district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction of any such action. When either the Fund or the Bank is a defendant in any such action, it may, at any time before the trial thereof, remove such action from a State court into the district court of the United States for the proper district by following the procedure for removal of causes otherwise provided by law.
Sec. 11. status, immunities and privileges
The provisions of article IX, sections 2 to 9, both inclusive, and the first sentence of article VIII, section 2 (b), of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, and the provisions of article VI, section 5 (i), and article VII, sections 2 to 9, both inclusive, of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank, shall have full force and effect in the United States and its Territories and possessions upon acceptance of membership by the United States in, and the establishment of, the Fund and the Bank, respectively.
Sec. 12. stabilization loans by the bank
The governor and executive director of the Bank appointed by the United States are hereby directed to obtain promptly an official interpretation by the Bank as to its authority to make or guarantee loans for programs of economic reconstruction and the reconstruction of monetary systems, including long-term stabilization loans. If the Bank does not interpret its powers to include the making or guaranteeing of such loans, the governor of the Bank representing the United States is hereby directed to propose promptly and support an amendment to the Articles of Agreement for the purpose of explicitly authorizing the Bank, after consultation with the Fund, to make or guarantee such loans. The President is hereby authorized and directed to accept an amendment to that effect on behalf of the United States.
Sec. 13. stabilization operations by the fund
The governor and executive director of the Fund appointed by the United States are hereby directed to obtain promptly an official interpretation by the Fund as to whether its authority to use its resources extends beyond current monetary stabilization operations to afford temporary assistance to members in connection with seasonal, cyclical, and emergency fluctuations in the balance of payments of any member for current transactions, and whether it has authority to use its resources to provide facilities for relief, reconstruction, or armaments, or to meet a large or sustained outflow of capital on the part of any member.
If the interpretation by the Fund answers in the affirmative any of the questions stated in subsection (a), the governor of the Fund representing the United States is hereby directed to propose promptly and support an amendment to the Articles of Agreement for the purpose of expressly negativing such interpretation. The President is hereby authorized and directed to accept an amendment to that effect on behalf of the United States.
Sec. 14. further promotion of international economic relations
In the realization that additional measures of international
Declaration of U. S. policy.
economic cooperation are necessary to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade and render most effective the operations of the Fund and the Bank, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to seek to bring about further agreement and cooperation among nations and international bodies, as soon as possible, on ways and means which will best reduce obstacles to and restrictions upon international trade, eliminate unfair trade practices, promote mutually advantageous commercial relations, and otherwise facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade and promote the stability of international economic relations. In considering the policies of the United States in foreign lending and the policies of the Fund and the Bank, particularly in conducting exchange transactions, the Council and the United States representatives on the Fund and the Bank shall give careful consideration to the progress which has been made in achieving such agreement and cooperation.
Approved July 31, 1945.