Trump orders suspension of the law prohibiting bribery of foreign officials
Kyiv • UNN
The US President has signed a decree suspending the implementation of the 1977 anti-corruption law. The White House explains this by the need to make American companies more competitive in the international market.
President Donald Trump has ordered the US Department of Justice to stop enforcing the US anti-corruption law, which prohibits Americans from bribing foreign government officials to do business.
UNN reports this with reference to the Financial Times.
This will mean much more business for America
It is an order to US Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend the implementation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977.
It sounds good on paper, but (in practice - ed.) it's a disaster. It means that if an American moves to another country and starts doing business there legally, legitimately or otherwise, it's almost guaranteed to be investigated, accused, and no one wants to do business with Americans because of that
A White House spokesman said that “the nation's national security depends on America and its companies gaining strategic commercial advantages around the world.
The official added:
President Trump is ending the excessive, unpredictable enforcement of the FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - ed.), which makes American companies less competitive
The order marks one of the boldest enforcement strategies issued by the Trump administration, potentially undermining a critical tool for suppressing misconduct by individuals and companies.
A White House official said that Bondi will issue new guidance on enforcement actions that “promote American competitiveness and the efficient use of federal law enforcement resources,” adding that previous and existing FCPA actions will be reviewed.
U.S. companies have suffered from “over-enforcement” of the law, as “they are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field,” the official added.
The White House has stated that US national security requires strategic advantages in various infrastructure assets, such as important mineral resources and deepwater ports.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been at the heart of some of the Justice Department's most high-profile cases, including a plea deal it reached last year with Trafigura over bribes the commodities trading house paid in Brazil to keep business with state-controlled oil company Petrobras.
In 2022, one of McKinsey's former senior partners pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a large-scale corruption scandal during the administration of former South African President Jacob Zuma.
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