🧵1. Ending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act fits with the notion that US international relations have turned an abrupt corner toward a more brutal and short-termist self interest. It's self-defeating: dangay.substack.com/p/the-musk-s... on.ft.com/3WYdTSz - ThreadSky

About ThreadSky

dangay.bsky.social • 18 days ago

🧵1. Ending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act fits with the notion that US international relations have turned an abrupt corner toward a more brutal and short-termist self interest. It's self-defeating: https://dangay.substack.com/p/the-musk-slips

https://on.ft.com/3WYdTSz

Comments

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

2. Trump is obviously talking nonsense when he says that US businesses abroad are "guaranteed an investigation", and "nobody wants to do business with the Americans".

US companies do business everywhere all the time, mostly without being "investigated".

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

3. As the former anti-corruption co-ordinator at the State Department quoted in the FT piece says: “Most [US] companies appreciate the fact that the FCPA allows them to be firm in refusing bribes because most private sector companies — sensibly — see bribery as an unproductive cost.”

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

4. Bribery tips the playing field toward the unethical companies with deep pockets. Smaller US players will lose out.

It'll incentivise other international companies to be corrupt, prompting a pointless race to the bottom.

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

5. Some other entities that don't have to answer publicly to shareholders will be better at bribery, have longer established links and are less scrupulous than those from the US.

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

6. Ending the USFC may in fact render US companies more vulnerable to investigation abroad. Those operating above board should be concerned about the reputational impact on their own businesses.

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

*FCPA

dangay.bsky.social•18 days ago

7. The most corrupt multinationals tend to be in resource extraction. They're less productive and operate in an industry in long-term decline.

For some countries that now consider themselves at odds with the US, ending the USFC will give them an excuse to target American companies.

Posting Rules

Be respectful to others
No spam or self-promotion
Stay on topic
Follow Bluesky's terms of service

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply