Bretton Woods

After the Second World war, the United States proved like the big one benefited in economic matter. It had turned into the first world potency, the impact of the battles after his borders was minimal, and his manufacturing industry was favored of the sale of weapon to the countries in war in Europe. Half of world coal was produced in the country, as well as two third parts of the oil and 50 % of the electrical resources. The Agreements of Bretton Woods, between other things, served to ratify that hegemony that has lasted until our years.

It still had not finished the Second World War, but the destination of the world was already clear when there assembled in New Hampshire, in a hotel complex called Bretton Woods, the big economic authorities of the world. It was July 1, 1944, and that meeting of the Monetary and Financial Conference of United Nations lasted 21 days, until July 22.

There were established the future bases of a new world economic order that would govern the financial and commercial relations between the most industrialized countries.

In that meeting two visible heads were those of Great Britain and those of the United States, represented especially by two big thinkers of the XXth century: John Maynard Keynes and the North American Harry Dexter. Nevertheless, at the time of truth, the final scores finished with giving the account to the American who achieved that big part of his proposals was accepted, and turned this way the United States into the center of the economic order.

44 were the countries participants in that meeting, although there were strange situations as that of India, which part of the Britons was, or the communist block that led the USSR and that was opposed to sign the Agreements. For his part, China, which yes ratified it, moved back in the year 1949, after the revolution maoísta.

Of those meetings there went out vital agreements on the economic future. The dollar turned into the reference currency. The fixed international monetary system a stable exchange rate indexes to the North American currency. For it, there was adopted a system that was relating the currencies to the gold. The USA was fixing in value of the gold in 35 dollars, in exchange for being always able to change his currency into gold at this price and without limits. The rest of countries would fix the value of his coin with regard to the dollar and with a trading range of 1 %. There were the advantages of possessing 80 % of the world reservations of gold. This way, and on having been fixed the dollar as a reference boss, one of the strongest proposals was rejected of the English economist Kaynes, who was supporting the creation of a new international currency, the bancor.

This type of system needed of an international organism that he was in charge of watching and supervising the whole surgery. This way the International Monetary Fund was born, the IMF, which also had to fights to encourage the business transactions between countries. As indissoluble part of this organizational system created also the World Bank, which was created from Banco Internacional of Reconstruction and Development. And how not, did both organizations establish his central head offices in Washington.

On the other hand, the future bases of the OMC were established, by means of the signature (that would be realized in the year 1958) in the General Agreement of Tariffs and Commerce.

To read more on: World economy
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