Title 22 — Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-73

§5302 Findings

Title 22 › Chapter CHAPTER 62— - INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL POLICY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EXCHANGE RATES AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC POLICY COORDINATION › § 5302

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress finds that the United States needs much better coordination with other big industrial countries on broad economic and currency policies. Currency values shape where goods are made and sold. The rise in the dollar in the early 1980’s helped cause the current U.S. trade deficit. Exchange rates have become more volatile and sometimes create large, lasting imbalances that hurt trade and planning. Capital flows now dwarf trade flows and can move quickly, adding uncertainty and exchange-rate swings. Some countries manipulate their currencies to gain an advantage, which harms U.S. industries. A more stable dollar, at a level that supports a sustainable U.S. current account, should be a major policy goal. Better coordination is needed, and coordinated U.S. action in foreign exchange markets can help make adjustments more orderly.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §5302

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that—

(1)the macroeconomic policies, including the exchange rate policies, of the leading industrialized nations require improved coordination and are not consistent with long-term economic growth and financial stability;

(2)currency values have a major role in determining the patterns of production and trade in the world economy;

(3)the rise in the value of the dollar in the early 1980’s contributed substantially to our current trade deficit;

(4)exchange rates among major trading nations have become increasingly volatile and a pattern of exchange rates has at times developed which contribute to substantial and persistent imbalances in the flow of goods and services between nations, imposing serious strains on the world trading system and frustrating both business and government planning;

(5)capital flows between nations have become very large compared to trade flows, respond at times quickly and dramatically to policy and economic changes, and, for these reasons, contribute significantly to uncertainty in financial markets, the volatility of exchange rates, and the development of exchange rates which produce imbalances in the flow of goods and services between nations;

(6)policy initiatives by some major trading nations that manipulate the value of their currencies in relation to the United States dollar to gain competitive advantage continue to create serious competitive problems for United States industries;

(7)a more stable exchange rate for the dollar at a level consistent with a more appropriate and sustainable balance in the United States current account should be a major focus of national economic policy;

(8)procedures for improving the coordination of macroeconomic policy need to be strengthened considerably; and

(9)under appropriate circumstances, intervention by the United States in foreign exchange markets as part of a coordinated international strategic intervention effort could produce more orderly adjustment of foreign exchange markets and, in combination with necessary macroeconomic policy changes, assist adjustment toward a more appropriate and sustainable balance in current accounts.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 5302

Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73