The US delegation played an integral role in the establishment of the basic tenets of the IMF and maintains a large presence in the workings of the organization.
In addition, under the Bretton Woods system, other countries’ currencies were kept at a fixed exchange rate to the U.S. dollar, which in turn was pegged to the value of gold.
[2] White, confirmed by the Senate in 1946 as the US Executive Director of the Fund,[3] played an integral role in the formation of the IMF alongside John Maynard Keynes at the Conference.
[5] The Joint Statement would eventually become the Articles of Agreement of the IMF, which outline its structure, its key functions, and the duties of its member countries.
For instance, it played a substantial role in the establishment of quotas for each country, with Fred M. Vinson, the Vice-Chairman of the US delegation, heading the ad-hoc committee in charge of this task.
[7] The Bretton Woods System was founded on the principle that the U.S. was a steady and reliable global economy; the U.S. had over 60% of the world's total gold in its reserve.
Ultimately, the U.S. ended the fixed exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and an ounce of gold that was originally agreed upon in what is now known as the Nixon shock.
[11] A statistical study conducted by Boston University-affiliated Strom Thacker also found that a country that measurably moves closer to the US (by voting similarly, for example) is much more likely to get a loan from the IMF.