The Brazilian government has recently confirmed, in a letter from the Minister of the Economy sent on May 31, 2000 to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to migrate from the scope of Clause 14 of the Bretton Woods Agreement, a transitory clause which allows developing countries to impose certain monetary and exchange restrictions, to Clause 8 of the same agreement, which is a standard clause that forbids any kind of restrictions related to capital flows among Brazil and foreign countries.

Brazil adhered to the Bretton Woods Agreement, which among other resolutions created the IMF, in January 14, 1946, and has been following its provisions every since the promulgation of Decree n.? 8.479, in December 21, 1945, which incorporated the Bretton Woods Agreement into Brazilian the legal system.

Under the Bretton Woods Agreement, all prevailing restrictions, barriers and taxes provided in Brazilian legislation to international financial operations, such as taxes over capital remittances to and from Brazil, as well as the requirement for the registration of such operations, are no longer applicable, as the modification of Brazil´s position before the Bretton Woods Agreement automatically revokes any provision to the contrary.