Problem:
American law expressly forbids US companies from paying bribes overseas in the conduct of business; the rationale behind this law is that American companies should be held to the highest ethical values when transacting business either within the United States or overseas.
However, many other countries (including some Western European nations) do not necessarily abide by the same stringent rules that American companies are bound by through American law. Many American companies claim that this puts them at a competitive disadvantage.
Do you feel it is ever justified for multinational corporations to bribe foreign officials in order to gain access to overseas markets? Would you feel differently if American companies were held to a different standard than companies from other countries? What if this indeed led to a competitive disadvantage for American corporations?