Mar-a-Lago Agreement
It is about forcing Washington's partners to devalue their currencies or pay selective tariffs, with the aim of lowering the dollar's price and reviving American industry. The appointed Secretary of Commerce, Stephen Mieran, proposed the idea in a 2024 paper, but implementation (tariffs + political pressure on central banks) makes it closer to a collective warning rather than a voluntary understanding like the Plaza Accord of 1985 ABN AMRO BankNordea.
A simplified equation: Less confidence in the dollar → Higher hedging costs → Greater demand for gold/Bitcoin/stablecoins → Expanding decentralized payment networks → The American tax code loses its sharpness.
Why does the White House want a weaker dollar? To ease debt service, revitalize industry, and reduce the trade deficit.
The broad real effective exchange rate index of the dollar reached 123.4 on May 16, 2025, which is about a quarter higher than its average during the 2013–2014 period. Congressional budget circles estimate that every ten-point decline in this index reduces federal debt service by about forty billion dollars annually, making currency devaluation a direct tool for alleviating government borrowing burdens.
In the industrial labor market, the number of workers remains at 12.8 million jobs compared to a peak of 19.5 million in 1979. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that a ten percent rise in the dollar costs the sector about one million three hundred thousand jobs; while the same percentage drop recovers nearly the same number, linking job sustainability to the United States' ability to control the value of its currency.
The goods deficit reached nearly one trillion and six billion dollars during 2024 according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Models used by trade experts indicate that a ten percent decrease in the dollar raises manufactured exports by three to five percent, an improvement that could consume a significant part of the goods deficit gap.
Facts that temper optimism
Reserve dominance is already fracturing: The dollar's share of central bank reserves fell from 71% (1999) to 57.8% (2024 Q4) IMFReuters. Any further forced reduction could prompt banks to accelerate diversification towards gold, the yuan, or digital assets.
Uncertain Compliance: Trade partners possess retaliatory tools—WTO, alternative coalitions (BRICS+), and pricing goods in other currencies.
Cost to the American consumer: Tariffs will raise the prices of intermediate goods, which may nullify the advantage of a weaker dollar for manufacturers.
A turn towards crypto
Executive Order (March 6, 2025) to establish a reserve plan for Bitcoin confirms that the White House itself sees Bitcoin as 'digital gold.'
The crypto market capitalization reached $3.57 trillion in May 2025—33% higher year-on-year despite tariff fluctuations.
Every step that weakens confidence in the dollar strengthens the narrative that borderless assets represent an alternative store of value and a neutral payment corridor.
The 'Mar-a-Lago Agreement' may buy the Trump administration some rapid growth points, but it risks the privilege of global reserve status built over 80 years. If the dollar shifts from a risk-free asset to a politicized asset, global capital will find its way to assets not controlled by any state—foremost among them Bitcoin.