Coping with Corruption in Trading with China

CASE 2-5 Coping with bribeion in Trading with mainland China Corruption is on the rise in China, where the countrys hale frequently has detailed cases of itchion and of campaigns to crack down on it. The articles in the beginning stomach focused on domestic economic crimes among Chinese citizens, and on local of? cials who make believe been ? red or assessed other penalties. Indeed, China has been rated by Transparency International as number 59 of the 102 countries the German formation rates on its Corruption Perception Index. 1 Finland is rated the least foul up at number 1, the United States at 16, and Bangladesh the most corrupt at number 102.Corruptions long arm now is reaching start to touch Chinas opposed business community. Traders, trade consultants, and analysts have verbalise that foreign ? rms are vulnerable to a variety of corrupt practices. Although virtually of these ? rms said they had no experience with corruption in the nations Republic of China (PRC), the majority said they increasingly were asked to advance retributions to improve business, engage in black- foodstuff trade of im port and merchandise licenses, bribe of? cials to push goods through customs or the Commodity review article Bureau, or engage in collusion to beat the system.The Hong Kong Independent bursting charge Against Corruption composings that outright bribes as well as gifts or payment to establish guanxi, or connections, average 3 to 5 percent of operating(a) costs in the PRC, or $3 cardinal to $5 billion of the $100 billion of foreign investments that have been made there. The most harsh corrupt practices confronting foreign companies in China are examined here. ANGLING FOR property MNCs also are asked sometimes to sponsor overseas education for children of commerce of? cials. One person told a Chinese source that an MNC paid for that idiosyncratics U.S. $1,500-a-month apartment, as well as a car, university education, and expenses. Firms ? nd ren t requests for cash paymentsundeniably il statutorythe most dif? cult. One well-placed source said that a major trader, eager for buyers in the face of an international market glut, had fallen into regularly paying large kickbacks into the Honduran, U. S. , and Swiss accounts of of? cials at a PRC foreign trade corporation. Refusing to make payments whitethorn non only hurt sales, it can also be terrifying. A U. S. ?rm was one of several(prenominal) bidders for a large sale a Chinese of? ial demanded the MNC pay a 3 percent kickback. When the company representative refused, the of? cial threatened You had better not say anything about this. You still have to do business in China, and stay in hotels here. Not surprisingly, the U. S. company lost the deal. Traders of certain commodities may be tempted to purchase on the black market those import and exporting licenses that are dif? cult to obtain legally. A fairly disorganized subway market, for instance, exists for licenses to e xport China-made garments to the United States.Some branches of the Commodity Inspection Bureau (CIB) also have posed problems for some traders. Abuses have emerged in the CIB since it started inspecting imports in 1987. A Nipponese company, for instance, informed CIB of? cials of its intention to bring heavy industrial items into Chinaitems that had met Nipponese and U. S. standards. The of? cials responded that they planned to dismantle the products on arrival for inspection purposes. The problem was solved only after the ? rm invited the of? cials to visit Japan. Some traders get around such(prenominal) problems by purchasing inspection certi? ates on the black market. According to struggle accounts, these forms, complete with signatures and seals, can be bought for roughly U. S. $200. Some claim that, for the purloin compensation, customs of? cials in a southern province are genuinely willing to reduce the dutiable value of imports as much as 50 percent. Because the savings can far exceed transport costs, some imports that would logically enter China through a northern port are redirected through the southern province. PAYING TO IMPROVE BUSINESS unusual traders make several types of payments to facilitate sales in China.The most car park methods used are trips abroad. Chinese of? cials, who rarely have a notice to visit overseas, often prefer foreign pop off to cash or gifts. (This was especially true when few PRC of? cials had been abroad. ) As a result, traders report that dangling foreign trips in front of their PRC clients has become a regular part of negotiating large trade deals that involve products with a expert component. Foreign travel is always the ? rst inducement we offer, said an executive mired in machinery trade. In most cases, traders built these costs into the products sale price.Some trips are reasonable and bona ? de expenditures directly related to the promotion, demonstration, or account statement of products and services, or the execution of a contract with a foreign organization agency. But other trips, when of? cials on foreign junkets are offered large per diems and arent invited speci? cally to gain technical knowledge, may be another matter. Foreign travel isnt always an inducementit also can be extorted. In one case, a PRC bank branch refused to issue a letter of credit for a machinery import deal. The Chinese customer suggested that the foreign trader invite the bank of? ial on an overseas inspection tour. one time the invitation was extended, the bank issued the letter of credit. QUESTIONS 1. List all the different types of bribes, payments, or favors delineate in this case and say why each is either legal or illegal. 2. For those practices that you say are illegal, classify each as lubrication, extortion, or subornation, and tell why. 3. Which of the payments, favors, or bribes are illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)? 4. Assuming that the FCPA did not exist, what is th e ethical response to each of the payments, favors, or bribes you have See www. transparency. org for more details about their 2002 index. 572 Cases 2 The heathenish Environment of Global Markets you think bribery will become little prevalent in markets like China? 573 identi? ed? Read the parting titled Ethically and Socially Responsible Decisions in Chapter 3 as a guide to assist you in your decision. 5. Now that the OECD has approved an FCPA-like accord to ban commercial bribery by ? rms in member countries, do 6. List alternatives to paying bribes in international markets and discuss the pluses and minuses of each.