Trump halts enforcement of US law banning businesses from bribing foreign officials
Photo: Donald Trump (Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to suspend prosecutions of Americans accused of bribing foreign government officials to obtain or retain business in their countries, Reuters reports.
Trump's executive order suspends enforcement of the nearly half-century-old Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review current and past actions related to the law and prepare new guidelines for its implementation.
The law, passed in 1977, prohibits companies operating in the United States from paying bribes to foreign officials. Over time, it has become a guiding force for how American companies operate abroad.
"It's going to mean a lot more business for America," Trump told reporters as he signed the executive order in the Oval Office.
Trump wanted to repeal the FCPA during his first term in office. He called it a "horrible law" and said that "the world is laughing at us" for enforcing it.
The anti-corruption organization Transparency International said that the FCPA has made the United States a leader in the fight against global corruption.
Gary Kalman, executive director of Transparency International US, said in a statement that Trump's executive order "diminishes - and could pave the way for completely eliminating - the crown jewel in the U.S.'s fight against global corruption."
Reduced competitiveness
A White House fact sheet says the law makes US companies less competitive.
"US companies are harmed by FCPA over-enforcement because they are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field," the statement said.
The fact sheet also states that Trump's directive requires the Department of Justice to provide “revised, reasonable enforcement principles” that will not prevent U.S. firms from competing abroad.
In the past years, a wide range of multinational companies have come under scrutiny by the DOJ in connection with this law, including Goldman Sachs, Glencore, and Walmart.
A White House fact sheet states that in 2024, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed 26 FCPA-related enforcement actions, and at least 31 companies were under investigation at the end of the year.
