122. Statement by Secretary of the Treasury Shultz1
The nations gathered here have it in their power to strike a new balance in international economic affairs
The new balance of which I speak does not confine itself to the concepts of a balance of trade or a balance of payments. The world needs a new balance between flexibility and stability in its basic approach to doing business. The world needs a new balance between a unity of purpose and a diversity of execution that will permit nations to cooperate closely without losing their individuality or sovereignty.
We lack that balance today. Success in the negotiations in which we are engaged will be measured in terms of how well we are able to achieve that balance in the future.
I anticipate working closely and intensively with you to that end, shaping and reshaping the best of our thinking as we proceed in full recognition that the legitimate requirements of each nation must be meshed into a harmonious whole.
In that spirit, President Nixon has asked me to put certain ideas before you.
[Omitted here are brief general remarks on economic policy matters.]
[Page 419]Principles Underlying Monetary Reform
Drawing from this interchange of views, and building upon the Smithsonian agreement,2 we can now seek a firm consensus for new monetary arrangements that will serve us all in the decades ahead. Indeed, I believe certain principles underlying monetary reform already command widespread support.
First is our mutual interest in encouraging freer trade in goods and services and the flow of capital to the places where it can contribute most to economic growth. We must avoid a breakup of the world into antagonistic blocs. We must not seek a refuge from our problems behind walls of protectionism.
The pursuit of the common welfare through more open trade is threatened by an ancient and recurring fallacy: Surpluses in payments are too often regarded as a symbol of success and of good management rather than as a measure of the goods and services provided from a nation’s output without current return.
We must recognize, of course, that freer trade must be reconciled with the need for each country to avoid abrupt change involving serious disruptions of production and employment. We must aim to expand productive employment in all countries—and not at one another’s expense.
A second fundamental is the need to develop a common code of conduct to protect and strengthen the fabric of a free and open international economic order.
Such basic rules as “no competitive devaluation” and “most-favored-nation treatment” have served us well, but they and others need to be reaffirmed, supplemented, and made applicable to today’s conditions. Without such rules to guide us, close and fruitful cooperation on a day-to-day basis would not be possible.
Third, in shaping these rules we must recognize the need for clear disciplines and standards of behavior to guide the international adjustment process—a crucial gap in the Bretton Woods system. Amid the debate about the contributing causes of past imbalances and the responsibility for initiative toward correction, sight has too often been lost of the fact that adjustment is inherently a two-sided process—that for the world as a whole, every surplus is matched by a deficit.
Resistance of surplus countries to loss of their surpluses defeats the objective of monetary order as surely as failure of deficit countries to attack the source of their deficits. Any effort to develop a balanced and [Page 420] equitable monetary system must recognize that simple fact; effective and symmetrical incentives for adjustment are essential to a lasting system.
Fourth, while insisting on the need for adjustment, we can and should leave considerable flexibility to national governments in their choice among adjustment instruments. In a diverse world, equal responsibility and equal opportunity need not mean rigid uniformity in particular practices. But they do mean a common commitment to agreed international objectives. The belief is widespread—and we share it—that the exchange rate system must be more flexible. However, important as they are, exchange rates are not the only instrument of adjustment policy available; nor in specific instances will they necessarily be the most desirable.
Fifth, our monetary and trading systems are an interrelated complex. As we seek to reform monetary rules, we must at the same time seek to build in incentives for trade liberalization. Certainly, as we look ahead, ways must be found to integrate better the work of the GATT and the IMF. Simultaneously we should insure that there are pressures which move us toward adequate development assistance and away from controls which stifle the free flow of investment.
Finally, and perhaps most fundamental, any stable and well-functioning international monetary system must rest upon sound policies to promote domestic growth and price stability in the major countries. These are imperative national goals for my government—and for yours. And no matter how well we design an international system, its prospects for survival will be doubtful without effective discharge of those responsibilities.
[Omitted here are policy details.]
Cooperation for Equilibrium
I am fully aware that the United States as well as other countries cannot leap into new monetary and trading arrangements without a transitional period. I can state, however, that after such transitional period the United States would be prepared to undertake an obligation to convert official foreign dollar holdings into other reserve assets as a part of a satisfactory system such as I have suggested—a system assuring effective and equitable operation of the adjustment process. That decision will of course need to rest on our reaching a demonstrated capacity during the transitional period to meet the obligation in terms of our reserve and balance of payments position.
We fully recognize that we have not yet reached the strength we need in our external accounts. In the end, there can be no substitute for such strength in providing the underpinning for a stable dollar and a stable monetary system.
[Page 421]An acceptable monetary system requires a willingness on the part of all of us to contribute to the common goal of full international equilibrium. Lacking such equilibrium, no system will work. The equilibrium cannot be achieved by any one country acting alone.
We engage in discussions on trade and financial matters with a full realization of the necessity to continue our own efforts on a broad front to restore our balance of payments. I must add, in all candor, that our efforts to improve our position have in more than one instance been thwarted by the reluctance of others to give up an unjustified preferential and highly protected market position. Yet without success in our endeavor, we cannot maintain our desired share in the provision of aid and reduce our official debt to foreign monetary authorities.
We take considerable pride in our progress toward price stability, improved productivity, and more rapid growth during the past year. Sustained into the future, as it must be, that record will be the best possible medicine not only for our domestic prosperity but for the effective functioning of the international financial system.
[Omitted here are brief concluding comments.]
- Source: Department of State Bulletin, October 23, 1972, pp. 460-462, 465-466. Secretary Shultz made his statement before the combined IMF-IBRD Boards of Governors. He was U.S. Governor of the Fund and the Bank.↩
- For background, see Bulletin of Jan. 10, 1972, p. 32. [Footnote in the source text. See also Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, vol. III, Document 221.]↩