This amendment would extend the same power the IMF has over a nation's current account to its capital account. In other words, the IMF would become the ultimate authority on capital account liberalization. The IMF's new authority over capital accounts would vastly expand the IMF's mandate. The IMF's current mandate gives it power over a very narrow category of international economic regulation. Under the IMF's expanded mandate, a more expansive and loosely defined set of government policies can be overruled or outlawed by the Fund.
All governments regulate flows of money, products, and services across their borders.
These typically take the form of tariffs, quotas and subsidies intended to foster domestic production. As with trade, the IMF currently can only force governments to limit these restrictions in countries undergoing structural adjustment. By amending its Articles of Agreement, the IMF is seeking to expand its power over all investment controls. The IMF's current controls on payments, while potentially important, merely adjust the way in which trade and investment transactions are paid. Trade and investment policies are the primary means by which governments regulate economic integration with other countries.