1) Contact the exchange rates of national currencies.
That is, the exchange rate regulations and adjustment principles, the main provisions are as follows:
1. The dollar is pegged to gold. That is, countries have confirmed the official gold price of $35 per ounce set by the United States in June1934+1October, and the gold content per dollar is 0.8 1 gram of gold. The government or central bank can exchange dollars for gold from the United States at official prices. In this way, the dollar and gold have the same status, and the currencies of other countries cannot be exchanged for gold. In order to protect the official price of gold from the impact of the free market gold price, governments need to cooperate with the US government to maintain this official price of gold in the international financial market.
2. The currencies of other countries are pegged to the US dollar. Other governments set the gold content of their respective currencies and determine the exchange rate with the US dollar through the proportion of gold content. Member States can also set the exchange rate with the US dollar instead of the gold content of the currency. For example, in 1946, the gold content of L pound is 3.58 134 grams of pure gold, and the gold content of 1 dollar is 0.88867 1 gram of gold, so the ratio of gold content (gold parity) between pound pound and dollar is 1 pound = 3.58.
3. Implement an adjustable fixed exchange rate. According to the agreement of the International Monetary Fund, the exchange rate of national currencies against the US dollar can generally only fluctuate within the range of 1% above and below the legal exchange rate. If the market exchange rate exceeds the fluctuation range of the legal exchange rate 1%, governments are obliged to make predictions in the foreign exchange market to maintain the stability of the exchange rate. The exchange rate system of Bretton Woods system is called "adjustable pegged exchange rate system". If the change in the legal exchange rate of a member country exceeds 10%, it must be approved by the International Monetary Fund. 19711February, the fluctuation range of the spot exchange rate was expanded to 2.25% up and down, and the standard for determining "parity" was changed from gold to special drawing rights.
The collapse of the Bretton Woods system
1) Reasons for the collapse of the Bretton Woods system
1. Defects of the system itself. The root cause of the collapse of the dollar-centered international monetary system. It is the inevitable contradiction in the system itself. Under this system, the US dollar, as a means of international payment and international reserve, plays the role of the world currency.
On the one hand, the US dollar, as a means of international payment and international reserve, requires a stable value of the US dollar in order to be generally accepted by other countries in international payment. The stability of the dollar requires not only that the United States has enough gold reserves, but also that the international balance of payments of the United States must maintain a surplus, so that gold will continue to flow into the United States and increase its gold reserves. Otherwise, people are reluctant to accept dollars in international payments.
On the other hand, if the world wants to obtain sufficient foreign exchange reserves, it also needs the United States to maintain a large balance of payments deficit, otherwise the world will face a shortage of foreign exchange reserves and international payment means in international circulation channels. However, as the US deficit increases, the gold security of the US dollar will continue to decrease and the US dollar will continue to depreciate. After the Second World War, it was the inevitable result of the development of this contradiction from the shortage of dollars to the flood of dollars.