Grease the Wheel: Trump Plans to Make it Legal for Businesses to Bribe Foreign Officials

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Bloomberg reports that Donald Trump will soon sign an executive order to pause the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, claiming that it hurts American businesses.

The FCPA, passed in 1977, specifically prohibits any person or company tied to the United States from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials to help their business. In 1998, the law was amended to include foreign businesses, as well as people who facilitated such bribes in the U.S. The DOJ said there were 24 cases related to alleged violations of the law in 2024, and 17 in 2023.

Trump may benefit personally from weakening or discarding the FCPA. The Trump Organization recently announced that it will no longer prohibit deals with foreign companies while he is president, and he might seek to “grease the wheels” on overseas deals without any restrictions.  

It looks like Trump is opening the doors for American companies and individuals, including himself, to pay off foreign officials to better line their pockets.

Thought you'd like to read a blog post from October, 2020 with the headline:  Don't Ever, Ever, Ever Bribe  Foreign Officials to Obtain Lucrative Business Contracts.

My, have times changed.  And to think it's A-OK for the US to accept a luxury jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One for Trump without any strings attached.

It's Not Candy Land, It's Game of Chicken

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A day before Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs are scheduled to kick in, the US president appears locked in a high-stakes game of chicken [or maybe Candy Land?], with the world's economy hanging in the balance.

Some nations labelled "worst offenders" are scrambling to make nice with the White House to end this game before it reaches a potentially devastating climax.  China, in contrast, is playing a different game, one of retaliation and resistance.

Meanwhile, Trump has pressed ahead, even as some allies – in Congress and on Wall Street – wonder if he's going too far.

What the World Thought of the U.S. Harris-Trump Debate 9/10/24

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The first debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was closely watched not only in the U.S. but around the world.

From Beijing to Budapest, here's how the debate went down, according to BBC foreign correspondents.

Small Businesses: The Engine of American Prosperity

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Is the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) a non-partisan organization?  You decide.

Oh Who Says There is a Retreat of Globalization?

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As Pankaj Ghemawat says for the Harvard Business Review:

One week after Donald Trump’s inauguration, with fears of a trade war spiking, the Economist published a cover story, “The Retreat of the Global Company,” in which it proclaimed that “the biggest business idea of the past three decades is in deep trouble” and that “the advantages of scale and…arbitrage have worn away.” And Jeffrey Immelt, GE’s chairman and CEO, has talked about the company’s “bold pivot” from globalization to localization.

Oh please.  Globalization will never go away -- it's here to stay.  And look at the state GE is in after Immelt decided to do his bold pivot.  Get with the program -- choose globalization as your strategy or else risk thwarting the true upside potential of your business.

Case in point:  Many years ago, when I worked at a small manufacturing company, had we not taken our company global, we would have stayed at $600,000 in annual revenues year after year.  Instead, we took the chance and went after the world for business, ended up conducting business in 27 different countries, with 33 percent of our business generated internationally.  We reached $6 million in annual revenues within 3 years.  This was all done with a four-person staff, myself included.

You can listen to others and stay local or you can go after what is rightfully yours, easy to have and offers fantastic benefits.  The world is your market.  The only thing stopping you is you.

Read more:  Globalization in the Age of Trump

America First for Global Small Business Fighters!

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President-elect Donald Trump has selected Linda McMahon, the co-founder of the pro-wrestling enterprise World Wrestling Entertainment, to head the Small Business Administration.

Trump says:

"She [Linda McMahon] helped grow WWE from a modest 13-person operation to a publicly traded global enterprise with more than 800 employees in offices worldwide. Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America's entrepreneurial spirit all across the country."

Read more:  Trump Tags Former Wrestling Magnate To Head Small Business Administration

Think BIG in the Global Marketplace

©2013 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"I like thinking big.  If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big." - Donald Trump

Photo:  Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago

I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/donald_trump.html#TKBxcbZW7BGeUwgp.99

I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/donald_trump.html#TKBxcbZW7BGeUwgp.99

I like thinking big. If you're going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/d/donald_trump.html#TKBxcbZW7BGeUwgp.99