Contact: Caroline Tabler (202) 224-2353

WASHINGTON - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) along with Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), David Perdue (R-Georgia), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), and Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) yesterday sent a letter to President Trump asking him to take appropriate action to address the role of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in the U.S. regulatory framework. They also asked the President to clarify that the standards or rules developed by the FSB are advisory in nature and not binding on the United States or U.S. businesses.

"The Financial Services Board may have its uses, but its edicts should carry no more weight in the U.S. than an op-ed in a college paper," said Cotton. "We're calling on the administration to make it clear to the world that U.S. financial policy is set by the U.S. government and no one else."

The full text of the letter is below or can be found by clicking here.


January 18, 2018

The Honorable Donald J. Trump
President
United State of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20220


Dear President Trump:

We write to you today to thank you for prioritizing and advocating for the interests of American taxpayers, workers, and businesses in your international discussions. We also would like to bring to your attention an issue where your leadership would significantly mitigate harm to U.S. stakeholders.

We ask that you take appropriate action to address the role of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in the U.S. regulatory framework. Additionally, we ask that you formally clarify that the standards or rules developed by the FSB are advisory in nature, and not binding on the United States or U.S. businesses.

Since its creation, the FSB has morphed into a global regulatory body that operates with minimal oversight and without due process under U.S. law. The FSB specifically states that it enforces "member jurisdictions implementation of agreed commitments, standards and policy recommendations, through monitoring of implementation, peer review and disclosure."[1] The FSB's Peer Review mechanism is designed as a quasi-enforcement tool by attempting to pressure noncompliant countries into implementing the proposed standard. Moreover, additional pressure is placed on the U.S. and other countries to adopt FSB rules by making market access contingent on U.S. adoption of prescribed standards and policies.

We are concerned that the FSB has been driving a significant amount of U.S. policymaking regarding financial regulation. We strongly urge you to shift the emphasis from global standards imposed on U.S. entities to ensuring that our federal regulators take into account first and foremost the interest of U.S. affected entities and U.S. consumers.