1.   By curbing foreign bribery, industrialized countries will increase the credibility in the developing world of their proposals for combating demand-side corruption.

2.   That does not go nearly as far as America, which outlaws foreign bribery altogether, would like, but it is a big first step.

3.   Under the accord reached Friday, each of the nations in the OECD has until next April to introduce legislation making foreign bribery a crime.

4.   Within the government, there was some dissatisfaction that the foreign bribery charges had been dropped.

5.   Also under study are tax, currency transfer and foreign bribery statutes that might provide additional charges, according to these officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

6.   Although Swiss banks are often accused of accepting dirty money from foreign bribery and drug scandals, cases of corruption in Switzerland itself are rare.

7.   In particular, Washington is looking for a concrete commitment against foreign bribery from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at its May ministerial meeting in Paris.