Stopping the law prohibiting bribery of foreign officials, Mr. Trump wants to 'untie' American businesses

Mr. Trump ordered the Justice Department to stop enforcing anti-corruption laws that prohibit Americans from bribing foreign government officials to win business contracts.

Mr. Trump has directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend the law prohibiting Americans from bribery abroad - Photo: REUTERS

Mr. Trump asserted that stopping the enforcement of foreign bribery laws would create favorable conditions for American businesses.

"This will bring more business opportunities to the United States," the Financial Times quoted US President Donald Trump as saying on February 10, local time, after signing an executive order requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to suspend the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977.

"It sounds great in theory, but in practice it's a disaster. What this means is that if an American goes to a foreign country and starts a business there, legally, legitimately or not, there's almost certainly an investigation, a prosecution, and no one wants to do business with Americans because of that," Trump explained.

Mr. Trump criticized this as a "horrible law" that makes America the laughing stock of other countries.

The order is considered one of the Trump administration's boldest policies, potentially weakening an important tool in cracking down on wrongdoing by individuals and American companies.

The FCPA has previously been used in some of the Justice Department's most high-profile cases, including the bribery case in Brazil in which Trafigura paid bribes to continue doing business with state-owned oil company Petrobras.

In 2024, 31 companies were investigated under the FCPA.

"US companies are harmed by over-enforcement of the FCPA because they are prohibited from engaging in practices that are common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field," Reuters news agency quoted a White House document as saying.

The Trump administration has argued that US national security depends on strategic advantages in a variety of infrastructure assets, such as critical minerals and deep-water ports. And enforcement of the FCPA has imposed “increasing costs on the national economy ,” one official said.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dung-luat-cam-hoi-lo-quan-chuc-nuoc-ngoai-ong-trump-muon-coi-troi-cho-doanh-nghiep-my-20250211172651106.htm