News

USIS Washington 
File

10 November 1998

TEXT: CLINTON STATEMENT ON SIGNING ANTI-BRIBERY ACT

(Implements OECD anti-bribery treaty) (673)



Washington -- President Clinton has signed the "International
Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998" that brings U.S. law
into compliance with the "Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign
Public Officials in International Business Transactions," an
international agreement signed by the United States and 32 other
nations in December 1997.


Clinton signed the legislation on November 10 that will implement U.S.
participation in the Convention, which was negotiated under the
auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD).


In a statement, Clinton pointed out that the U.S. firms since the 1977
enactment of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) "have faced
criminal penalties if they engaged in business-related bribery of
foreign public officials." Now major U.S. competitors will also "be
obligated to criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials in
international business transactions," he said.


The convention's signatories, which includes all industrialized
countries, account for a "large percentage of international
contracting," Clinton said. The United States will "work diligently,
through the monitoring process to be established under the OECD, to
ensure that the Convention is widely ratified and fully implemented,"
he said.


Following is the text of the president's statement.



(begin text)





STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT



It is with great pleasure that I sign today S. 2375, the
"International Anti-Bribery and Fair Competition Act of 1998." This
Act makes certain changes in existing law to implement the Convention
on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International
Business Transactions, which was negotiated under the auspices of the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The
Convention was signed on December 17, 1997, by the United States and
32 other nations. On July 31, 1998, the Senate gave its advice and
consent to ratification of the Convention. With enactment of this
bill, the United States is able to proceed with the deposit of its
instrument of ratification, and it is my hope that the Convention will
enter into force by the end of 1998, the target date established by
OECD Ministers.


The United States has led the effort to curb international bribery. We
have long believed bribery is inconsistent with democratic values,
such as good governance and the rule of law. It is also contrary to
basic principles of fair competition and harmful to efforts to promote
economic development. Since the enactment in 1977 of the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. businesses have faced criminal
penalties if they engaged in business-related bribery of foreign
public officials. Foreign competitors, however, did not have similar
restrictions and could engage in this corrupt activity without fear of
penalty. Moreover, some of our major trading partners have subsidized
such activity by permitting tax deductions for bribes paid to foreign
public officials. As a result, U.S. companies have had to compete on
an uneven playing field, resulting in losses of international
contracts estimated at $30 billion per year.


The OECD Convention -- which represents the culmination of many years
of sustained diplomatic effort -- is designed to change all that.
Under the Convention, our major competitors will be obligated to
criminalize the bribery of foreign public officials in international
business transactions. The existing signatories already account for a
large percentage of international contracting, but they also plan an
active outreach program to encourage other nations to become parties
to this important instrument. The United States intends to work
diligently, through the monitoring-process to be established under the
OECD, to ensure that the Convention is widely ratified and fully
implemented. We will continue our leadership in the international
fight against corruption.


Section 5 of S. 2375 is unrelated to the Convention. However, it can
be implemented in a manner that advances U.S. objectives for the
privatization of the international satellite organizations, and does
not put the United States in breach of its obligations under
international agreements.


WILLIAM J. CLINTON



THE WHITE HOUSE,

November 10, 1998



(end text)