WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday evening pausing enforcement of a federal law that makes it a crime for U.S. businesses to bribe foreign officials, saying that the law puts companies at a disadvantage on the global stage.
Trump ordered newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediately stop actions taken under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, including prosecutions of American individuals and companies who the Justice Department has charged with bribing foreign government officials in attempts to gain business in other countries.
“It sounds good on paper, but in practicality, it’s a disaster,” Trump said. “It means that if an American goes over to a foreign country and starts doing business over there, legally, legitimately or otherwise, it’s almost a guaranteed investigation indictment, and nobody wants to do business with the Americans because of it.”
He added: “It was a Jimmy Carter concept, and it sounds so good, but it’s so bad. It hurts the country and many, many deals are unable to be made because nobody wants to do business.”
The new order is aimed at restoring American economic competitiveness by having Bondi draw up “revised, reasonable enforcement guidelines” for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, according to a White House fact sheet obtained by USA TODAY.
