There is something called The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 which makes it:
unlawful for certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business. Specifically, the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA prohibit the willful use of the mails or any means of instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of any offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment of money or anything of value to any person, while knowing that all or a portion of such money or thing of value will be offered, given or promised, directly or indirectly, to a foreign official to influence the foreign official in his or her official capacity, induce the foreign official to do or omit to do an act in violation of his or her lawful duty, or to secure any improper advantage in order to assist in obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, any person.
http://www.justice.gov/...
For some reason the United States Chamber of Commerce does not like the act as it now stands and is:
building on its campaign to amend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, hiring former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to lobby on the issue.
Debevoise & Plimpton, where Mukasey is a partner, filed lobbying registration papers on his behalf this month, according to Senate records. The registration is for the Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform and is effective back to March 3. It covers possible FCPA amendments and other issues “related to criminal law and policies affecting U.S. corporations.”
The Chamber has become increasingly critical of the FCPA in recent months. It argues that the law, which allows the U.S. government to seek charges against corporations and individuals for bribes paid to local officials in other countries, is not working well and could be making U.S. companies less competitive.
http://legaltimes.typepad.com/...
The Chamber, under the auspices of the Institute for Legal Reform, has released a 32-paper outlining its position against regulating corrupt practices called Restoring Balance: Proposed Amendments to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act:
http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/...
According to Mukasey the U.S. Department of Justice has actually been enforcing the act, causing widespread panic in the corporate community.
We certainly can't have panic in the corporate community can we?
That sort of thing is best left to the rabble, the people, um, kind of like the situation of the people in Japan at present times.