55. Editorial Note
On January 8, 1962, the International Monetary Fund announced that its Board of Directors had reached agreement with 10 major industrialized countries on general arrangements by which the Fund could borrow supplementary funds. “This decision,” the IMF announcement stated, “sets out the terms and conditions under which such borrowing will be possible in order to enable the Fund to fulfill more effectively its role in the international monetary system under conditions of convertibility, including greater freedom for short-term capital movements.” Under these arrangements, the United States agreed to lend up to $2 billion [Page 135] to the Fund. For text of the IMF announcement, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1962, pages 251-253. The procedures the nations would follow in making supplementary funds available to the Fund were spelled out in exchanges of letters among the 10 nations. For texts of these letters, see the Supplement.
The agreement required approval by the necessary legislative bodies. The U.S. Congress enacted enabling legislation authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to make additional U.S. loans to the International Monetary Fund in P.L. 87-490, approved on June 19, 1962. (76 Stat. 105) The U.S. Government announced its formal adherence to the IMF’s general arrangements to borrow on October 24, 1962.