International Monetary Fund: Efforts to Advance U.S. Policies at the Fund

The core mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to promote monetary cooperation and exchange rate stability and provide resources to IMF member countries that experience balance-of-payment difficulties. Because it is an international organization, IMF is generally exempt from US law; however, Congress can seek to influence IMF policy by passing laws that direct the Secretary of the Treasury to direct the Executive Director to vote on certain issues within the Board of the Fund. Through three case studies, GAO found that the Treasury and the U.S. Executive Director actively promoted U.S. policies related to (1) sound banking principles, (2) labor issues, and (3) audits of military expenditures. It is difficult to determine whether IMF's adoption of a policy is due solely to U.S. influence because other countries generally support the same policies.