Leaving the political boundaries of a country does not exempt a business from home-country laws. What is illegal for American businesses in the United States can also be illegal in foreign jurisdictions for the firm, its subsidiaries, and licensees of U.S. technology.

The FCPA makes it illegal for companies to pay bribes to foreign officials, candidates, or political parties. Bribery is voluntarily offered payments by someone seeking unlawful advantage. Payments received under duress are extortion. Another variation is the difference between lubrication and subornation. Lubrication involves a relatively small sum of cash, a gift, or a service made to a low-ranking official to facilitate or expedite the normal, lawful performance of the duties of that official in a country where such offerings are not prohibited. Subornation involves large sums of money designed to entice an official to commit an illegal act on behalf of the one paying the bribe. Lubrication payments ask the person to do a job more rapidly or more efficiently; subornation asks the officials to turn their heads, not do their jobs, or to break the law. An agent's fee may or may not be a bribe. However, if the agent's fees are used to pay bribes, the fees are being used illegally and may be punishable under the FCPA.

U.S. firms, their foreign subsidiaries, or foreign licensees of U.S. technology cannot sell a product to a country where the sale is considered by the U.S. government to affect national security. In addition, the responsibility extends to the final destination of the product regardless of the number of intermediaries involved in the transfer of goods. A U.S. company cannot legally sell a controlled product to someone if the U.S. company could reasonably know the product's final destination would be in a country where the sale would be illegal.

This control has lessened somewhat with improved trade relations among nations since the end of the Cold War. When the former Soviet Union, China, and other communist countries were viewed as threats to U.S. security, the control of the sale of goods considered to have strategic and military value was extremely strict.

The punishment for violations of this law can be severe. The West German subsidiary of Digital Equipment Corporation was fined $1.5 million for allowing sophisticated computers to be shipped to the Soviet Union. Toshiba Machine Tool Company of Japan sold milling machines to the Soviet Union to make ultraquiet submarine propellers. The technology for the milling machines was licensed to the Japanese company by a U.S. company and sale to the Soviet Union was forbidden. Besides sanctions against Toshiba in Japan for violation of Japanese law, the U.S. Trade Bill of 1988 specifically banned all government purchases from Toshiba Corporation, parent company of Toshiba Machine Company, for three years. The estimated losses were approximately 3 percent of the company's total exports to the United States annually.

Antitrust enforcement protects American consumers and American export and investment opportunities. The American consumer benefits from products and ideas produced by foreign competitors as well as domestic competitors. Competition from foreign producers is important when imports are, or could be, a major source of a product or when a single firm dominates a domestic industry. The activities of American businesses abroad can have repercussions on the American domestic market. Questions primarily arise in three situations.

The government wants to avoid the reduction of competition in the U.S. market that might exist in one of the three situations.

Under the antiboycott law enacted in 1977, U.S. companies are forbidden to participate in any unauthorized foreign boycott and are required to report any request to cooperate with a boycott. This law was a response to the Arab boycott of Israeli businesses. The primary boycott bans direct trade between Arab states and Israel. The secondary boycott bars Arab governments from doing business with companies that do business with Israel. The tertiary boycott bans Arab governments from doing business with companies that do business with companies doing business with Israel.

When companies do not comply with the Arab League's boycott directions, the companies' names are placed on a blacklist and are prohibited from trading with members of the Arab League, often without their knowledge. This prevents U.S. companies from doing business with both Arab and Israeli businesses. Antiboycott laws were enacted to prevent secondary and tertiary boycotts and also learn which firms and countries attempt these activities.