Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 09/2009

US Interests and the International Monetary Fund

C. Randall Henning

June 2009

Peterson Institute for International Economics

Abstract

The United States Congress is now considering whether to raise US commitments to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A positive decision would ratify President Obama’s pledge in early April, taken with the other leaders of the G-20, to bolster the IMF as part of their cooperative response to the global economic crisis. The package of measures advanced by the G-20 leaders would triple the resources available to the Fund to $750 billion and would greatly reinforce its role in the international financial system. However, the IMF remains a controversial institution and congressional support cannot be taken for granted.