Published: June 2nd, 2025,
Last updated: June 3rd, 2025

The existing international order, including the global trading system and the dollar-based monetary system, were established in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, near the end of World War II. With Europe in ruins, the United States enjoyed undisputed economic dominance, including in manufacturing: in 1948, four years after the Bretton Woods conference, the US accounted for more than half of all goods produced worldwide.