If that seems harsh, then you need to read the just post story at The Washington Post, Wal-Mart took part in lobbying campaign to amend anti-bribery law.
The opening paragraph lays it out:
Wal-Mart, the giant retailer now under fire over allegations of foreign bribery in Mexico, has participated in an aggressive and high-priced lobbying campaign to amend the long-standing U.S. anti-bribery law that the company might have violated.
The issue at hand is the 1977 Corrupt Practices Act, which "prohibits U.S. companies from offering fees or gifts to foreign officials to advance corporate interests."
The US Chamber of Commerce is actively involved in attempting to change the law, which if you think of it, comes down to this: We the Chamber of Commerce believe that we should be allowed to operate corruptly in other nations. Walmart has participated in these efforts. So far, as the Post puts it,
There is no evidence that suggests Wal-Mart participated in the Chamber’s efforts because of its problems in Mexico. But even as the company has pledged zero tolerance for corruption around the globe, it has been a party to an effort that, some advocacy groups argue, would eviscerate the Watergate-era anti-corruption statute.
As is the case with most regulations, Republicans and their allies in the corporate world want to eliminate or restrict them, even if what they are seeking is the right to break the laws of other countries.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been very blunt in response:
“We are unequivocally opposed to weakening the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” Clinton said. “We don’t need to lower our standards. We need to work with other countries to raise theirs. I actually think a race to the bottom would probably disadvantage us.”
Not that such seems to matter to Republicans, or to Walmart, as long as the latter and similar corporations can increase their profits.