President Donald Trump will direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to reestablish guidelines for enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which bars Americans from bribing foreign officials, according to reports of a forthcoming executive order.
Bloomberg News, which reviewed a White House document on the upcoming order, reported that Bondi will establish new guidelines to enforce the act and that, in the meantime, there will be a temporary enforcement pause.
“U.S. companies are harmed by FCPA overenforcement because they are prohibited from engaging in practices common among international competitors, creating an uneven playing field,” the document said, per the outlet.
The FCPA was signed into law in 1977, making it illegal for Americans to pay officials of foreign nations to help them get or keep foreign business, the Department of Justice (DOJ) notes. The law, which has also applied to “certain foreign issuers of securities” since 1977, was amended in 1998.
“With the enactment of certain amendments in 1998, the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA now also apply to foreign firms and persons who cause, directly or through agents, an act in furtherance of such a corrupt payment to take place within the territory of the United States,” according to the DOJ.
CNBC reported that a White House official verified the forthcoming order.
“A pause in enforcement to better understand how to streamline the FCPA to make sure it’s in line with economic interests and national security,” the source said.
CNBC indicated Trump was set to sign the order on Monday.
In addition to Trump’s order on the enforcement of the FCPA, he is also expected to take executive action by pardoning former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) soon, Axios reported.
Trump notably commuted Blagojevich’s prison sentence in February 2020. The former governor had been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after being found guilty on allegations he tried to sell former President Barack Obama’s Senate seat following the presidential election in 2008. Axios did not note a timeline for when the reported pardon was set to take place.
