Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials

The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs (EB) continues to expand opportunities for U.S. businesses to compete for and win business globally by advancing the fight against foreign bribery and corruption and promoting responsible business conduct.  The Office of Macroeconomic Affairs heads the U.S. delegation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery (WGB) , which monitors implementation of the Anti-Bribery Convention.  The WGB consists of 44 members, including all 36 members of the OECD.  Transparency International has called the WGB’s tough peer review and relentless follow-through the “gold standard” of monitoring.  Together the WGB and U.S. enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) have changed how the world does business.

As a result of active U.S. engagement and leadership, the WGB has developed into an effective tool for pressuring other major economies to adopt, strengthen, and enforce their foreign bribery laws.  The United States used to stand alone in combating foreign bribery, but now many other countries have joined the effort by bringing criminal and/or civil proceedings in bribery cases.  A primary goal of the WGB and the United States is to secure the membership of remaining major economies to continue to level the playing field for U.S. business and combat the pernicious effects of corruption on economic development, rule of law, and democracy.  The U.S. delegation to the WGB includes the Departments of Justice and Commerce as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).