I will say further that the U.S government is committed to ensuring that the Guidelines are not misused as implementation proceeds. It is interesting to note that, in a related area, the adoption of codes of ethics by corporations, a recent survey by the Conference Board asked 106 large companies from 22 other countries why they instituted ethics codes. The MNE Guidelines can play a similar role, in suggesting practices that seek to combine good business practice with a common set of guidelines for all players. Let me say that this code differs from other such recent efforts in that it is more comprehensive and it is the only code which has been multilaterally endorsed. Let me turn to a third area of OECD activity.
Bribery is sand in the wheels of the world's commerce.
It makes markets less efficient and increases the likelihood that bad business decisions will be made as a result of its influence. It has been and remains a fact of life for companies from all of the world's major exporting nations. I don't think so. It's difficult to know the real size of the iceberg. Clearly, corruption and bribery are economic problems on a worldwide scale.