(1) Sometimes referred to as “gentlemen`s tripartite agreement” or “arrangement.” In a statement by Foreign Minister Cordell Hull, a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of 26 September 1936 indicated in part that the tripartite agreement was an international monetary agreement concluded by the United States, France and Great Britain in September 1936 to stabilize the currencies of their nations, both domestically and in international foreign exchange markets. [1] “The action of the treasuries of the three governments, with concurrent and almost identical political statements, should considerably strengthen the prospect of stability in international trade. This should lead to a further strengthening of the framework conditions for our recovery in our own assembly. Political statements provide for full consideration of the needs for internal prosperity. This progress towards stability should also make it much easier to reduce excessive periods of quotas, control exchange rates and other excessive barriers to trade between countries, partly caused by currency uncertainties. Indeed, since time, it has been shown that progress towards stability and the reduction of trade barriers should progress simultaneously or almost at the same time. This is in line with our programme of reciprocity agreements, as it is an indispensable part of any programme for a complete and stable recovery of companies. Back (2) The Minister of Finance announced on the same day that the United Kingdom and France had met the conditions set out in his declaration of purchase of gold from the United States for immediate export or limitation of purpose. On 24 November 1936, he announced that, because of the principles of the tripartite declaration of 25 September 1936, reciprocal agreements had also been concluded with Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Previous The international monetary system imploded during the Great Depression. As the conventional narrative says, the collapse of the gold standard and the rise of the devaluation of competition have triggered a currency war that has darkened the system, darkened the decade and still serves as a warning to policy makers today. But this familiar story is only half the truth. With the tripartite agreement of 1936, Britain, America and France joined forces to end their monetary war and make peace.
The agreement expressed a new vision in which democracies promised to discuss exchange rate policy and establish a liberal international system at a time when fascist forces were trying to destroy it.