The revelation that American companies were making payments to foreign political parties and government officials touched a sensitive nerve in the po… - Neil H. Jacoby

Today, multinational business is under attack by socialist and other critics on a wide spectrum of issues. New charges that multinational firms corrupt the officials of foreign governments have been added to the litany of criticism Many governments, especially those of the Third World, have taken or threaten to take punitive and restrictive actions against foreign companies. Such measures would impede international investment, slow down economic progress, and damage the economic welfare of all countries concerned.

During 1968, more than forty-four hundred companies disappeared by mergers involving an estimated $43 billion in securities—an all-time record. In this tidal wave of mergers, which subsequently crested and receded, conglomerate firms accounted for either a substantial or a preponderant fraction, depending upon the definition of ‘conglomerate’ adopted.

Since 1950, American enterprises have invested in virtually every part of the world. Their annual exports in 1976 were more than $117 billion, and their foreign investments in book value were about $133 billion. This unparalleled international movement of goods, capital, technology, and managerial resources has had both successes and failures, but the former have by far outweighed the latter.