...When doing business abroad. The FBI just completed
a big sting operation against U.S. weapons dealers.
22 top-level executives, including a senior sales executive at Smith & Wesson, were arrested in what Justice Department officials called the first undercover sting ever aimed at violations of the federal ban on corporate bribes paid to get foreign business.
The ban is called the "Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," and was passed in 1977.
[it] prohibits American citizens and companies — and, since 1998, foreign citizens and companies acting in the United States — from bribing foreign government officials to get or keep business.
In my opinion this law is an unnecessary attack on U.S. industry. The reality is that bribes are necessary in many nations in order to grease the wheels of commerce. The ban damages the ability of U.S. companies to compete, and criminalizes what is normal business practice in many areas of the world. And, as usual with this sort of international do-gooderism, it gains us nothing. There's just no reason for it. If businessmen are violating foreign laws, they can be arrested and prosecuted under those laws. This sting operation by the FBI is a massive waste of resources to address a non-problem.
Amazing. The U.S. Government spent a ton of resources to set up a sting for bribery when dealing with a foreign entity. We all know "bribery" is a standard, and expected, practive thorughout the world.
ReplyDeleteI guess bribery is BAD, BAD, BAD in the USA!
But, at the same time as this sting our democrat leaders are offering billions of dollars in "enticements" to other democrats officeholders for their vote on certain issues. Gee, no conflict here.
Doesn't Obama want to create jobs? How does hurting US businesses's bottom lines help this? It's such a joke too. We spend billions on stabilizing Afghanistan, meanwhile China paid a huge bribe to the Afghan government to buy their copper mine.
ReplyDeleteObama should be made to wake up and say 'American interests' 3 times aloud before he does a thing.
"But, at the same time as this sting our democrat leaders are offering billions of dollars in "enticements" to other democrats officeholders for their vote on certain issues. Gee, no conflict here."
ReplyDeleteExcellent point.
"Obama should be made to wake up and say 'American interests' 3 times aloud before he does a thing."
Unfortunately I don't think Obama's definition of U.S. interests -- assuming that concept occurs to him at all -- would be much better.