Full text of Bretton Woods Agreements Act

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[PUBLIC L A W 171—79TH CONGRESS]
[CHAPTER 339—1ST SESSION]

[H. R. 3314]
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
United States of America in Congress assembled,

of the

SHORT TITLE
SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Bretton Woods Agreements Act".
ACCEPTANCE O F M E M B E R S H I P

SEC. 2. The President is hereby authorized to accept membership
for the United States in the International Monetary Fund (hereinafter referred to as the " F u n d " ) , and in the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (hereinafter referred to as the
"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.
A P P O I N T M E N T OF GOVERNORS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, A N D ALTERNATES

SEC. 3. (a) 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
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.
(b) 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 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.




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(c) 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.
N A T I O N A L ADVISORY C O U N C I L O N I N T E R N A T I O N A L M O N E T A R Y A N D
F I N A N C I A L PROBLEMS

SEC. 4. (a) I n 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
(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 o,f the Board of Governors of the Federal
Keserve System, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Export-Import Bank of Washington.
(b) (1) The Council, after consultation with the representatives
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.
(2) 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.
(3) The Council shall coordinate, by consultation or otherwise, so
far as is practicable, the policies and operations of the representatives of the United States on the Fund and the Bank, the ExportImport 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.
(4) Whenever, under the Articles of Agreement of the Fund or
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
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 V I I , section 3, of the Articles of
Agreement of the Fund, without prior approval of the Council.
(5) The Council from time to time, but not less frequently than
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.
(6) The Council shall also transmit to the President and to the
Congress special reports on the operations and s 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 F u n d




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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:
The extent to which the F u n d 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 F u n d
and the Bank should be increased or decreased; recommendations as
to how the Fund and the Bank may be made m6re 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.
(7) 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.
(c) 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.
CERTAIN ACTS N O T TO BE T A K E N W I T H O U T A U T H O R I Z A T I O N

SEC. 5. 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 I I I , section 2, of the Articles of Agreement of the
F u n d ; (b) propose or agree to any change in the par value of the
United States dollar under article IV, section 5, or article X X , 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 I I , section 3, of the Articles
of Agreement of the Bank; (d) accept any amendment under article
X V I I of the Articles of Agreement of the Fund or article V I I I 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
I I , section 2, of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank.




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DEPOSITORIES

SEC. 6. 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.
P A Y M E N T OF SUBSCRIPTIONS

SEC. 7. (a) 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) 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 F u n d ; and any
repayment thereof shall be covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous
receipt."
(b) The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to pay the balance
of $950,000,000 of the subscription of the United States to the F u n d
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
required to be made to the Bank. F o r 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
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.
(c) F o r the purpose of keeping to a minimum the cost to the
United States of participation in the F u n d 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 I I , 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
issued under the authority and subject to the provisions of the Second
Liberty Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which securities
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
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




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article I I , section 7 (i), of the Articles of Agreement of the Bank,
(d) 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.
OBTAINING A N D F U R N I S H I N G INFORMATION

SEC. 8. (a) Whenever a request is made by the F u n d to the United
States as a member to furnish data under article V I I I , section 5, of
the Articles of Agreement of the Fund, the President may, through
anv agency he may designate, require any person to furnish such
information as the President may determine to be essential to comply
with such request. I n making such determination the President shall
£eek 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.
(b) I n the event any person refuses to furnish such information
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. I n 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.
(c) I t shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the Government, 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 shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $5,000, or
imprisoned tor not more than five years, or both.
(d) The term "person" as used in this section means an individual,
partnership, corporation or association.
F I N A N C I A L TRANSACTIONS W I T H FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS I N DEFAULT

SEC. 9. 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. 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 organisation or
association acting for or on behalf of such government or political
subdivision, or to the making of any loan to such government, political subdivision, organization, or association."



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J U R I S D I C T I O N A N D V E N U E OF ACTIONS

SEC. 10. F o r 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.
STATUS, I M M U N I T I E S A N D PRIVILEGES

SEC. 11. The provisions of article I X , sections 2 to 9, both inclusive,
and the first sentence of article V I I I , section 2 (b), of the Articles of
Agreement of the Fund, and the provisions of article V I , section
5 (i), and article V I I , 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.
STABILIZATION LOANS BY T H E B A N K

SEC. 12. 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.
STABILIZATION OPERATIONS BY T H E F U N D

SEO. 13. (a) The governor and executive director of the F u n d
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




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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.
(b) If the interpretation by the Fund answers in the affirmative'
any of the questions stated in subsection ( a ) , the governor of the F u n d
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.
F U R T H E R PROMOTION OF I N T E R N A T I O N A L ECONOMIC RELATIONS

SEC. 14. I n the realization that additional measures of international
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. I n
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.