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This article focuses on a planned European monetary union in 1996 and its benefits to North America. As the capstone of economic integration under the New Zealand and Australia Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or in the European Union, monetary union would create a single capital market free of currency risk and financial systems that are compatible among member countries. If the Euro ultimately succeeds, it will pose a threat to the continued preeminence of the U.S. dollar and to its use for denomination in global trade and finance. U.S. citizens have reaped great benefits from this market-directed dominance. To take the challenge seriously requires a restructuring of the U.S. monetary authority and of monetary policy. Under these circumstances, the case for a North American Monetary Union (NAMU) will be made in the field by millions of economic operators. The lure of lower financing costs for private businesses, caught up in the dynamics of NAFTA-inspired economic integration, and the disruptive effects of real exchange rate swings on competitiveness, will cause monetary union to be given a second look in the Americas. For these reasons, the idea of monetary union is likely someday to become part of the public agenda in North America. Indeed, NAMU (or AMU) will crop up sooner rather than later if Europe succeeds in creating a mighty competitor to the U.S. dollar in global trade and finance.