US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order halting the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a 50-year-old anti-corruption law that prosecutes Americans accused of bribing foreign officials. The law prevents US firms from securing business deals through bribery with government figures abroad.
“It’s going to mean a lot more business for America,” Trump said after signing the order on Monday. The White House issued a statement arguing that “over-expansive” enforcement of the law threatened the economic advancement of the United States. Trump has long criticized the FCPA, calling it a “horrible law” and claiming, “the world is laughing at us” for its enforcement.
Trump also directed the US justice authorities to review actions related to the FCPA and develop new guidelines for its enforcement. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International warned that the president’s executive order “diminishes” the US’s global anti-corruption efforts.
However, Trump maintained that enforcing the FCPA would inhibit “routine business practices in other nations” and divert resources from “preserving American freedoms.” The White House explained that US companies are harmed by FCPA over-enforcement, which prevents them from competing with international rivals, thus creating an “uneven playing field.” Trump’s order aims to eliminate what he considers “excessive barriers to American commerce abroad.”
High-profile cases involving the FCPA include Goldman Sachs and Glencore. In 2020, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay nearly $3 billion to settle its role in the 1MDB scandal, where its Malaysian subsidiary admitted to paying more than $1 billion in bribes. In 2022, Glencore settled a corruption case with the Democratic Republic of Congo for $180 million.
In 2024, the US justice department and the Securities Exchange Commission pursued 26 enforcement actions under the FCPA, with 31 companies under investigation. On the same day Trump signed the executive order, the justice department dropped a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who faced accusations of accepting illegal campaign funds. The White House said the indictment had “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address issues like illegal immigration and violent crime.
Trump also pardoned former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat convicted on corruption charges, who had served eight years in prison before his sentence was commuted during Trump’s first term.
