Article I of the Agreement describes the purposes of the IMF. The agreement imposed obligations on members. Members were to conduct their policies so as to maintain a stable global financial system.
Article I: Purposes
-
To promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent institution which provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems.
-
To facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, and to contribute thereby to the promotion and maintenance of high levels of employment and real income and to the development of the productive resources of all members as primary objectives of economic policy.
-
To promote exchange stability, to maintain orderly exchange arrangements among members, and to avoid competitive exchange depreciation.
-
To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments in respect of current transactions between members and in the elimination of foreign exchange restrictions which hamper the growth of world trade.
-
To give confidence to members by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under adequate safeguards, thus providing them with opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of payments without resorting to measures destructive of national or international prosperity.
-
In accordance with the above, to shorten the duration and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in the international balances of payments of members.
The Fund shall be guided in all its policies and decisions by the purposes set forth in this Article.
Return to: Asking the Right Questions About the IMF
