From Pounds to Dollars: The Shift of International Economic Hegemony (1933-1945): The Shift of International Economic Hegemony

Author: Zhang Zhenjiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book is a research monograph on the issue of international economic hegemony. It covers topics such as the Great Depression and the shift in U.S.-British foreign economic strategies, the complex economic relationship between the U.S. and Britain, the negotiation and conclusion of the "U.S.-British Trade Treaty," the adjustment of U.S. foreign economic strategies during World War II, and Lend-Lease negotiations and the establishment of post-war international economic principles. It is suitable for economic researchers to reference and study. This book examines U.S.-British economic diplomacy from 1933 to 1945. The economic crisis that broke out in the late 1920s and early 1930s in Western major developed countries completely destroyed the international economic system based on the gold standard. As the leader of the old system, Britain, and the United States, which had already become the world's largest economy, both formulated their respective foreign economic strategies: the United States, symbolized by the 1934 "Reciprocal Trade Act," sought to implement a "New Deal" in the international economic arena, aiming to establish a U.S.-dominated world economic system and international peace; facing the crisis and declining international status and influence, Britain chose a strategy of self-preservation: abandoning free trade and forming an "Imperial Preferential System" centered around Britain, with the British Empire as a defense line. Through numerous bilateral payment and trade agreements, Britain maintained and expanded its economic sphere of influence. These two vastly different strategies determined the inevitable confrontation between the two sides. Thus, around the 1933 London World Economic Conference, the 1936 U.S.-British-French monetary agreement, the 1938 "U.S.-British Trade Treaty," and the war debts and reparations that affected international relations throughout the two wars, the two sides engaged in a prolonged and largely evenly matched diplomatic struggle. However, the outbreak of World War II completely changed the struggle pattern between the two countries in the 1930s. As the leader of the war and a supplier of strategic materials, the United States redefined its strategy for reshaping the post-war international economic system. The domestic consensus and will to pursue world economic hegemony were like an arrow drawn back, poised to strike. Britain's situation was the opposite: increasingly dependent on the United States in both military and strategic material terms. As a result, around the Fourth Article of the Atlantic Charter, "Lend-Lease compensation" negotiations, and the international financial blueprint and trade plans to shape the post-war international economic system, as well as the "U.S.-British Financial Agreement" by the end of 1945, Britain had to gradually accommodate, deal with, fight, retreat, and ultimately accept the U.S.-led post-war international economic system. This was a war without smoke, a historical episode of the transition between a rising new hegemon and a declining former one in the realm of international economics. Understanding this history holds significant implications for comprehending the essence of the modern international economic system, world economic hegemony, and U.S. strategy, as well as for reflecting on and guiding China's relationship with the international economic system and its hegemonic nations. This book is a research monograph on the issue of international economic hegemony. It covers topics such as the Great Depression and the shift in U.S.-British foreign economic strategies, the complex economic relationship between the U.S. and Britain, the negotiation and conclusion of the "U.S.-British Trade Treaty," the adjustment of U.S. foreign economic strategies during World War II, and Lend-Lease negotiations and the establishment of post-war international economic principles. It is suitable for economic researchers to reference and study.