Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Is Outdated

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The pro argument for saying the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is obsolete is highlighted in the article Prosecute Wal-Mart, but get rid of anti-bribery law by Jeffrey Miron. In this article Jeffrey Miron argues that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was designed with good intentions but has failed to stop corruption. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has had a minimal impact on bribes but has allowed the least honest companies to profit. In many countries around the world bribes are a common practice in doing business. Foreign Companies are able to circumvent the law and pay off officials with minimal risk of exposure. This puts pressure on ethical American companies restricted by the FCPA to lower their standards or risk losing business. This discourages American companies from doing business overseas because of threat of prosecution under the FCPA.
The cons to the argument for saying the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is obsolete is discussed in the article With Wal-Mart Claims, Greater Attention on a Law by Charlie Savage. In this article Charlie Savage argues that the FCPA has always been a useful tool in stopping corruption but in recent years with companies becoming more globalized other countries gradually adopted similar laws, the United States has started to enforce it more strictly. The dollar amount of fines imposed by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission has increased even more, including a record-setting $800 million paid by Siemens in 2008. Enforcement under the act has soared, from just two enforcement actions in 2004 to 48 in 2010. There are currently at least 100 open investigations, specialists estimate.
Wal-Mart is seen as a global company, but it wasn’t until 1991 that Wal-Mart opens its fir...

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...ff. By the end of 2014 Wal-Mart will have appointed 10 market-level Chief compliance officer in its International division to build and lead the compliance teams in the company’s retail markets around the world. This effort is critical for promoting the long-term sustainability and capability of the company’s anti-corruption compliance team.
Anti-corruption remains a key focus for compliance training in all markets. Walmart’s anti-corruption training is designed to develop awareness and understanding of the relevant code of ethics for associates and agents who interact directly or indirectly with government officials on the company’s behalf. In recent years, Wal-Mart has trained more than 100,000 attendees from all levels of the company from around the world, including key senior executives and officers who interact directly or indirectly with government officials.

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