US President freezes law banning bribery of foreign officials

(CLO) President Trump has temporarily suspended the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). "It sounds good in theory but in practice, it's a disaster," he said when signing an order freezing the law's implementation earlier this week.

Mr. Trump cannot repeal the law, but as head of the executive branch, he can change how it is enforced. His order places a 180-day “pause” on all FCPA investigations while they are reviewed.

Mr Trump also ordered that no new investigations be opened during that time. The order also said it would halt other Justice Department “actions” under the law.

President Trump said the pause was also necessary to give his administration time to come up with new “reasonable” guidelines on how to enforce the law without disadvantaging American companies when entering into deals with foreign countries.

US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance. Photo: White House

Specifically, Mr. Trump said the law is being enforced in "excessive" ways that force American companies to compete on an unbalanced "playing field" with foreign rivals.

He also said the law was “draining resources” on law enforcement and harming US national interests, as companies were being held back from deals that would give the US access to deepwater ports, critical minerals and other assets.

The FCPA is a federal law that prohibits US companies and individuals from making payments to foreign government officials "to secure any improper advantage" to obtain or retain business.

The law was enacted in the 1970s to address concerns about global corruption, after investigators at the US Securities and Exchange Commission found hundreds of US companies making questionable or illegal payments to foreign officials to win business.

There have been numerous prosecutions under this law over the past 50 years. Last year, defense contractor RTX, formerly Raytheon, was fined more than $300 million to settle bribery allegations in Qatar.

In 2019, Walmart was fined $282 million to settle charges in a seven-year investigation into allegations the company paid bribes to win approval to open stores in Mexico, India and Brazil.

Hoang Hai (according to CBS, Reuters, Guardian)

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