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Export Credit Agencies
Governments often promote the exports and investments of domestic businesses by providing them with financial support in the form of credit or insurance for export or investment activities. Unfortunately, some companies that are supported by their home governments through these means resort bribing foreign officials to secure their businesses abroad.
With the input and encouragement of TI, the OECD Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees (ECG) agreed on an Action Statement in December 2000 to address this problem. This was to ensure the implementation of the 1997 OECD Convention on Combating Bribery in business transactions benefiting from official export credit and insurance support.
The Action Statement urges Export Credits Agencies (ECAs) to:
- inform exporters of the legal consequences of bribery
- require a declaration from the exporter to the effect that the contract to be guaranteed or insured has not been obtained through bribery or corruption
- threaten effective sanctions in case of violations and other appropriate measures
Prior to the ratification by all OECD states (except for the United States) of the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in February 1999, bribery of foreign officials was not illegal in the exporting countries. In fact, it was tax deductible in many countries, and it is safe to assume that many contracts financed, insured or guaranteed by ECAs in the past have been tainted by corruption.
To learn more about the work and collaboration between the public and the private sector, we invite you to browse through TI's activities in the private sector as well.
Transparency International has been actively engaged in collaborating with the OECD Export Credit Group and its members. TI’s recommendations were partially adopted in the OECD “Action Statement on bribery and officially supported export credits” from 2000 and the “OECD Council Recommendation on Bribery” from 2006. Most recently, a survey was conducted on ECA anti-bribery practices, which complemented information that is collected by the OECD in their yearly survey. The survey was implemented in 14 ECAs of 13 OECD countries with the collaboration of TI’s National Chapters. Some good practices were identified but there was great variation shown and in many cases considerable room for improvement. The report was launched in June 2010 and can be accessed here.
Other resourceful links on this issue
103rd Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees (ECG) held on April 21 (afternoon) and 22 (morning), 2005
