Bretton Woods 2.0

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  Conceptual Framework, Proposed Global Economic Order

• Purpose

  Re-industrialization of the United States, secure critical goods production, forge strategic alliances, address economic imbalances, new multilateral economic cooperation

• Inspired by

  Original Bretton Woods system

• Contrast with

  Free trade, existing bipartisan consensus on trade

• Proposed Mechanism

  Leverage trade policy (e.g., tariffs)

• Key Sectors for Security (proposed)

  AI/Semiconductors, Energy, Rare earth minerals, Pharmaceuticals

• Original Bretton Woods Participants

  44 Allied countries

• Original Bretton Woods Formal End Date

  1976

• Original Bretton Woods Monetary Standard

  Currencies pegged to US Dollar, US Dollar convertible to gold (US$35 per troy ounce)

• Original Bretton Woods Effective End Date

  1971-08-15

• Original Bretton Woods Conference Location

  Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States

• Original Bretton Woods System Establishment Date

  1944-07-22

• Original Bretton Woods Key Institutions Established

  International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

Timeline

• The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (Bretton Woods Conference) begins in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States. (Source: wikipedia)

  1944-07-01

• The Bretton Woods Agreement is signed, establishing the Bretton Woods system. (Source: wikipedia)

  1944-07-22

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) become operational. (Source: wikipedia)

  1945

• The United States ends the convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end. (Source: wikipedia)

  1971-08-15

• The Jamaica Accords formally ratify the end of the Bretton Woods system. (Source: wikipedia)

  1976

• During the 2008 financial crisis, some policymakers call for a new international monetary system, with some dubbing it 'Bretton Woods II'. (Source: web_search_results)

  2008

• French President Nicolas Sarkozy states, 'we must rethink the financial system from scratch, as at Bretton Woods.' (Source: web_search_results)

  2008-09-26

• Following the economic recession, the Managing Director of the IMF announces the emergence of 'A New Bretton Woods Moment'. (Source: web_search_results)

  2020

• A discussion takes place in London regarding 'Bretton Woods 2.0' and a 'New Marshall Plan'. (Source: web_search_results)

  2023-11-17

• Chamath Palihapitiya envisions 'Bretton Woods 2.0' as a new global economic order leveraging tariffs for supply chain resiliency and re-industrialization, discussed in the context of a fictional second Trump term on the All-In Podcast. (Source: related_documents)

  2024

Bretton Woods system

The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial relations among 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Western European countries, and Australia, after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement until the Jamaica Accords in 1976. The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent states. The Bretton Woods system required countries to guarantee convertibility of their currencies into U.S. dollars to within 1% of fixed parity rates, with the dollar convertible to gold bullion for foreign governments and central banks at US$35 per troy ounce of fine gold (or 0.88867 gram fine gold per dollar). It also envisioned greater cooperation among countries in order to prevent future competitive devaluations, and thus established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to monitor exchange rates and lend reserve currencies to countries with balance of payments deficits. Preparing to rebuild the international economic system while World War II was still being fought, 730 delegates from all 44 Allied countries gathered at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, for the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, also known as the Bretton Woods Conference. The delegates deliberated from 1 to 22 July 1944, and signed the Bretton Woods agreement on its final day. Setting up a system of rules, institutions, and procedures to regulate the international monetary system, these accords established the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which today is part of the World Bank Group. The United States, which controlled two-thirds of the world's gold, insisted that the Bretton Woods system rest on both gold and the US dollar. Soviet representatives attended the conference but later declined to ratify the final agreements, charging that the institutions they had created were "branches of Wall Street". These organizations became operational in 1945 after a sufficient number of countries had ratified the agreement. According to Barry Eichengreen, the Bretton Woods system operated successfully due to three factors: "low international capital mobility, tight financial regulation, and the dominant economic and financial position of the United States and the dollar." Eurodollar growth increased capital flows, challenging regulation of capital movements. On 15 August 1971, the United States ended the convertibility of the US dollar to gold, effectively bringing the Bretton Woods system to an end and rendering the dollar a fiat currency. Shortly thereafter, many fixed currencies (such as the pound sterling) also became free-floating, and the subsequent era has been characterized by floating exchange rates. The end of Bretton Woods was formally ratified by the Jamaica Accords in 1976.

Web Search Results

• The Bretton Woods Moment—and Its Necessary Replacement

  Inequality in influence and outcomes, within societies and between societies, has spurred calls for reform of global economic institutions. A Bretton Woods 2.0 is promoted to both reflect the new realities of global economic power and produce more just and sustainable outcomes, what IMF (International Monetary Fund) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has called a “21st-century multilateralism.” Initiation or reform of formal intergovernmental institutions, even if feasible, may be [...] A reformed framework for global economic governance can open paths to national policy experimentation and support national policies of equity and sustainability, but global institutions cannot solve all economic ills. Any successful Bretton Woods 2.0 will necessarily be incremental and partial, built by the efforts of many actors from the bottom up rather than by a select group of governments from the top down. Making sense of complexity and creating sustained movement toward reform will [...] Given the realities of global governance in this century, calls for a new Bretton Woods in the style of 1944 constitution-making will fail. The institutions and politics of global governance have changed radically in a world that is more open and confronts different challenges than the world that emerged from the Second World War. Yet this new reality does not mean that binding international agreements and formal intergovernmental institutions, such as the WTO, IMF, and World Bank, have become

• Bretton Woods 2.0 Project - Atlantic Council

  The Bretton Woods 2.0 Project examines the deep challenges facing the Bretton Woods Institutions and works to reimagine the governance of international finance.

• Bretton Woods 2.0 and a New Marshall Plan? - CEBRI

  As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods agreement, the parallels suggest an obvious conclusion. The time is ripe for a fresh agreement on multilateral economic cooperation. Deep global problems, huge unmet social and humanitarian needs, a shifting geopolitical landscape: there is a strong case for a “Bretton Woods 2.0” and a “New Marshall Plan” fit for today’s world. [...] As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods agreement, the parallels suggest an obvious conclusion. The time is ripe for a fresh agreement on multilateral economic cooperation. Deep global problems, huge unmet social and humanitarian needs, a shifting geopolitical landscape: there is a strong case for a “Bretton Woods 2.0” and a “New Marshall Plan” fit for today’s world. (...) While the G20 cannot in itself reform the Bretton Woods institutions or the wider global financial [...] Call it Bretton Woods 2.0, or a New Marshall Plan. Or maybe the Rio Agreement. Whatever the label, there is a huge prize within reach. London, November 17, 2023 Notes See: References African Union. 2023. “The African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change and Call to Action.” African Union, September 6, 2023.. Attridge, Samantha & Matthew Gouett. 2021. “Development Finance Institutions: The Need for Bold Action to Invest Better.” ODI Report. ODI, April, 2021..

• Bretton Woods system - Wikipedia

  ## The Bretton Woods system in the 21st century ### 2008 financial crisis During the 2008 financial crisis, some policymakers, such as James Chace and others called for a new international monetary system that some of them also dub Bretton Woods II. On 26 September 2008, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, "we must rethink the financial system from scratch, as at Bretton Woods." [...] Following the 2020 Economic Recession, the managing director of the IMF announced the emergence of "A New Bretton Woods Moment" which outlines the need for coordinated fiscal response on the part of central banks around the world to address the ongoing economic crisis. ## Impact and criticism [...] (2018–present) |

• [PDF] The Impact of Bretton Woods International Capital Controls on the ...

  The model economy reproduces the small observed capital flows during Bretton Woods with sig-nificant international capital market distortions, which are measured based on relative consumption growth. The left panel of Figure 2 shows the consumption of the U.S. and Europe relative to that of the Rest of the World. [...] During Bretton Woods, TFP grew 1.84 percent in the U.S.,2.7 percent in Europe, and 3.6 percent in the Rest of the World. Bretton Woods was also a period of extremely rapid real output growth, with an average annual growth rate of 3.7 percent for the United States, 4.6 percent for Europe and 7.4 percent for the Rest of the World. [...] In 2003, controls on shares, bonds, money market instruments, or other securities of a participating nature issued by non-OECD residents no longer applied. This is a loosening of capital controls on outflows and as such these policies are captured by an increase in our τ B.