Our business is subject to laws and regulation by various federal, state, local and foreign governmental agencies. For example, in the U.S., the DOT exercises broad powers over our motor carrier operations and safety. We are also subject to health and safety regulations imposed by state and federal agencies, such as the FDA, the USDA and OSHA. Additionally, we are subject to environmental laws and regulations imposed by various state and federal jurisdictions, such as the EPA, including requirements related to emissions and vehicle mandates. We must also comply with domestic and international laws and regulations related to tax, and we are further subject to anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions. With respect to our operations in Canada and Mexico, we are subject to local laws and regulatory requirements, including tax and anti-bribery laws,which may vary significantly from country to country. Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations may expose us to legal liability, fines or other penalties.
Compliance with laws and regulations has involved, and we expect will continue to involve, significant time commitments and costs, and in recent years, we have seen an increase in proactive regulatory enforcement. For example, the DOT, through the FMCSA, periodically conducts compliance reviews and evaluates the safety rating assessed to motor carriers ("satisfactory," "conditional" or "unsatisfactory"). The receipt of a final "conditional" or "unsatisfactory" safety rating could have a material adverse effect on certain customer relationships. Moreover, if we fail to comply with DOT regulations, including failing to maintain a "satisfactory" safety rating, the DOT could levy fines and require us to cease all transportation services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, compliance and enforcement initiatives implemented by the FMCSA related to driver time, fitness and safety may shrink the industry's pool of professional drivers.
In addition, new laws or regulations may be adopted or interpretative changes to existing regulations could be issued at any time. Any changes could further increase our costs or operating complexity and our ability to offer certain services in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Our failure to comply with any existing or future laws or regulations, whether actual or alleged, could have a material adverse effect on our business and on our ability to access the capital required to operate our business. Among other things, any such failure could expose us to reputational harm, loss of business, fines, penalties or potential litigation liabilities, and the loss of operating authority and restrictions on our operations. For example, compliance with new laws or regulations related to employee and independent contractor classification may cause us to incur additional exposure under federal and state tax and employment laws. Similarly, compliance with new environmental laws or regulations may also impose new restrictions on our business or require us to take certain actions that may increase our costs and adversely affect our business.
We may also fail to ensure that companies we acquire, that may not have historically maintained internal compliance controls, risk mitigation processes, or policies or procedures, comply with regulatory and legal requirements consistent with our standards. Moreover, we are also subject to reputational risk and other detrimental business consequences associated with noncompliance by other parties with whom we engage with, such as employees, customers, agents, suppliers or other persons using our supply chain or assets, who may commit illegal acts, including the use of company assets for terrorist activities, fraud or a breach of data privacy laws.