The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA FCS VP. Contact: steve.morrison@trade.gov or (202) 482-9088 FCS VP VOICE | BY STEVE MORRISON AFSA NEWS Countering Corruption Commercial Service officers are on the front lines of anti- corruption efforts around the world. In keeping with this month’s FSJ focus on corrup- tion, I offer a short, non- exhaustive list of resources at Commercial Service officers’ fingertips. While we cannot give U.S. companies legal advice, we can provide themwith infor- mation and resources on anti- corruption issues. Check with your supervisor if you are not sure what next steps to take in the case of a possible violation of U.S. law or international agreement. Corruption acts as a bar- rier to trade and is a major concern for U.S. businesses competing abroad. Perhaps that is why theWorld Bank Group’s once-a-year Ease of Doing Business rankings (www.doingbusiness.org/ rankings) and Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (www. transparency.org/research/ cpi/overview) receive such attention. If you or your clients want to learn more about the “gold standard” in anti-brib- ery/anti-corruption monitor- ing, reporting and guidance, check out the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s anti- corruption (bribery) website (www.oecd.org/corruption/ oecdantibriberyconvention. htm). The OECD Antibribery Convention requires coun- tries to criminalize the brib- ery of foreign public officials in international business transactions, as we do under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. There are also several broader anti-corruption initiatives and conventions, including the United Nations Convention against Cor- ruption: www.unodc.org/ unodc/en/treaties/CAC. The U.S. government is now also including anti-bribery commitments in our free trade agreements (FTA), including most recently in the Trans-Pacific Partner- ship Agreement, www.ustr. gov/trade-agreements/free- trade-agreements. Check with your senior commercial officer, regional or execu- tive director or any of the U.S. government resources below for further instructions, updates or related imple- menting legislation in any given country. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains a robust webpage on the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as does the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. See: www.justice.gov/criminal- fraud/foreign-corrupt-prac- tices-act and www.sec.gov/ spotlight/fcpa.shtml. An excellent publication for U.S. companies, espe- cially small and medium enterprises, on the FCPA is A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act , found at: www.justice.gov/ criminal-fraud/fcpa-guidance and at www.sec.gov/spot light/fcpa/fcpa-resource guide.pdf (information on Commerce’s role is on pages 5-6). In addition, our Coun- try Commercial Guides also contain useful information on anti-corruption resources and initiatives. The State Department’s Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs also pro- vides information on foreign bribery. FCPA-related issues and questions can be sent to EB-FCPA-DL@state.gov. For CS officers, questions can be directed to Commerce’s Office of the Chief Counsel for International Commerce, at occic@doc.gov. For more information on how to combat corruption generally, contact the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at anti-corruption@state.gov. Finally, CS’s International Company Profile service— with its discussion of key officers, banking and other financial information about a potential international partner—may also be a helpful resource for U.S. companies as they conduct their own due diligence. n THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2016 53 C. EDWARD DILLERY MEMORIAL FINANCIAL AID SCHOLARSHIP ESTABLISHED In March 2016, Foreign Service colleagues made donations to AFSA in honor of the late Ambassador C. Edward Dillery, longtime chair of the Scholarship Committee, who died on Jan. 23. A financial aid scholarship has been established in his name and will be bestowed on an undergraduate student for the 2016-2017 academic year. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Amb. Dillery joined the Foreign Service in 1953. In his 38-year career, he and his family were assigned to embassies and consulates general in Japan, Belgium, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Fiji, as well as tours inWashington D.C. In his last overseas post he served as ambassador to Fiji from 1984 to 1987. After retiring, he served for two years as AFSA vice president for retirees, taught several AFSA-sponsored Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) courses and, for 15 years, served as both a committee chair and judge for the AFSA Scholarship Pro- gram. Amb. Dillery was instrumental in setting policy that fostered transparency, sound financial management and acces- sibility. An appreciation of Amb. Dillery was featured in the April issue of The Foreign Service Journal . n NEWS BRIEF