Trump suspends application of foreign corruption law and orders its review

President Donald Trump has ordered a pause and review of a law that has defined the activities of US companies abroad for almost five decades, claiming that strict prohibitions against bribery to foreign officials strangle US competitiveness in a difficult global market .

«It will mean many more businesses for the United States,» Trump said by signing the order on Monday so that the Department of Justice stops the ongoing investigations and reviews the Law of Corrupt Practices Abroad (FCPA) of 1977 during the next six months.

The order argues that «the excessive and unpredictable application of FCPA against US citizens and companies – by our own government – for routine commercial practices in other nations not only wasted limited procedural resources that could devote themselves to preserving US freedoms, but also that It actively damages American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security. «

But the last annual review of the application of the law by the Stanford Law Faculty says that the number of application shares in 2024 was «well below the ten years of 36», with 26 cases that year presented for the two entities responsible for the application: the Department of Justice and the Bag and Securities Commission.

«This decrease suggests that each bribery scheme resulted in more unique actions against a corporation and its subsidiaries, employees and agents, but that less separate schemes were applied in 2024,» the report concluded.

The president’s order reaped criticism of the defenders of the fight against corruption.

«The world should not fall into a state in which bribery and corruption are the norm,» said Gary Kalman, Executive Director of the United States International State, in a statement to the Voa. «A career towards abyss harms both the citizens of the country and the companies involved in corrupt transactions. Those who choose to violate the law often face multiple bribery demands that delay or prevent these companies from obtaining the licenses and permits that They need to enter foreign markets.

The bribe is still illegal

Private legal experts rushed on Tuesday to clarify the scope and importance of the order.

«The bribe is still illegal,» according to the head of the analysis published on Tuesday morning by the Multinational law firm Arnold & Porter, based in Washington.

The eight authors continue to say in their analysis that the bribe not only remains illegal under the law, which has not been repealed by Congress, but also under several state, federal and foreign laws. They also point out that other countries have reinforced the application of anti -corruption laws.

«For now, we recommend that companies wait and see what happens, and in the meantime they continue focusing on compliance,» the lawyers concluded.

Democratic representative Jamie Raskin, a constitutional lawyer, said Tuesday that the new order «puts the United States on the side of ‘routine’ corrupt business practices worldwide.» The order, he said, gives the corporations «via free to pay bribes, bribes and financial taxes to corrupt foreign officials.»

His statement also pointed to Elon Musk, the billionaire businessman whose closeness to Trump has put him at the head of efforts to radically reform the United States government and aim at the waste, fraud and corruption through his government efficiency department .

«The Trump-Musk administration is causing bribery and corruption to be perfectly legal,» Raskin wrote in a statement. «The prices of eggs and other foods, housing, rental and electricity continue to increase, but now it is much cheaper to participate in political corruption.»

Musk and their companies have publicly faced the SEC and the Department of Commerce, but neither its name nor that of any of the companies with which it is associated appear in the complete list of FCPA compliance actions of any of them.

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