Trump's halt of US law banning business bribes abroad raises specter of a 'Wild West' of dealmaking
Business
On Monday, President Donald Trump took a side.
NEW YORK (AP) — To its fans, it’s an undeniable force for good in a corrupt world, a groundbreaking anti-bribery statute that has brought powerful businessmen to heel for secretly paying off foreign government officials to win contracts abroad.
To detractors, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unfairly hobbles American companies while foreign rivals not so encumbered swoop in.
On Monday, President Donald Trump took a side.
“It sounds good on paper but in practicality, it’s a disaster,” Trump said while signing an executive order freezing enforcement of the law. “It’s going to mean a lot more business for America.”
The consequences could be dramatic, depending on Trump’s next move.
If he halts many prosecutions, essentially defanging the law, it could help U.S. businesses win deals abroad. But it also could tarnish America’s image, allow corrupt autocrats ruling over impoverished people to get even richer and lead France, Britain, Japan and other wealthy countries to weaken their own anti-bribery laws so their companies can make payments, too.
“We are facing a Wild West situation,” said Mark Pieth, a criminal law professor at the University of Basel in Switzerland and anti-bribery law expert. “It will be everyone against everyone.”
WHAT EXACTLY DOES THE LAW BAN?
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, or FCPA, prohibits people or companies operating in the U.S. from giving money or gifts to foreign officials to win or retain deals in those countries. The law doesn’t require that the bribe is actually paid, but only offered.
Punishment for conviction is imprisonment of up to 20 years, and companies face fines double their profits from the illicit deal. That has often meant hundreds of millions of dollars, sometimes billions, in payments.
