When the US administration decided to release their plans for the postwar monetary order to the Allies’ governments, Gutt was still not very optimistic as to the prospects of establishing universal monetary institutions. It is true that the Belgians, and Gutt in particular, did not play a central role in the negotiating process that led to Bretton Woods conference of July 1944. Nevertheless, they had to take a position on the Anglo-American plans for a Stabilization Fund and an International Bank.

This chapter proposes to address Gutt's views on the American ideas for postwar monetary order as presented by Harry Dexter White. It will emphasize not only Gutt's assessment of these ideas but also his participation in their discussions. The main argument will be that the Belgian minister's positions were very specific. In short, while agreeing with White's plans as far as their basic principles were concerned, Gutt nevertheless opposed their institutional features, preferring instead the ones included in Keynes's project for an ICU. This position was not only the result of some personal feelings but had also to be understood in the context of the challenges these plans posed for Belgium in terms of international economic cooperation. In other words, such schemes presented Gutt and the Belgians with the challenge of reconciling international cooperation and the safeguard of Belgium's sovereignty over monetary policy.