FCPA: The American Antibribery Legislation Available to Purchase

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has been controversial since its inception in December 1977. Despite the various attempts to repeal or modify the Act, this piece of legislation remained as originally enacted until the 1988 Trade and Competitive Act revision. Although the debates on parts of the original Act seem to have reached an impasse, nonetheless the US Government finds itself in a catch‐22 situation – pioneering international ethical business standards and seemingly losing the competitive edge in foreign trade.