Befitting
a
nation
run
by
a
casino
boss
looking
to
build
hotels
in
shady
dictatorships,
the
United
States
put
a
stop
to
its
Foreign
Corrupt
Practices
Act
enforcement
efforts
when
Trump
took
office.
But
you
can’t
keep
a
good
statute
down
and
the
FCPA
is
back
with
new
guidance
that
boils
down
to…
“yeah,
pretty
much
go
ahead
and
bribe
people
unless
it
hurts
an
American
company.”
What
does
that
caveat
even
mean?
Unclear!
Get
your
briefcases
full
of
cash
—
or,
more
accurately,
your
digital
wallets
full
of
TRUMP
coin
—
and
go
wild.
Because
at
the
point
the
DOJ
takes
the
position
that
bribery
isn’t
always
detrimental
to
U.S.
business,
it’s
conceding
that
it’s
never
really
an
issue.
Almost
like
the
country
elected
someone
convicted
of
multiple
felonies
stemming
from
a
corrupt
scheme
to
bribe
someone.
Hmmmm.
Per
the
National
Law
Journal:
In
the
past,
presidents
were
of
the
general
belief
that
preventing
corruption
was
in
the
nation’s
best
interest,
but
the
Trump
administration
is
now
ensuring
that
it
prosecutes
only
cases
directly
relevant
to
U.S.
economic
and
national
security
interests,
said
Donoghue,
now
a
partner
at
Pillsbury
Winthrop
Shaw
Pittman.
The
“general
belief
that
preventing
corruption
was
in
the
nation’s
best
interest”
stemmed
from
a
sense
that
a
level
foreign
market
will
inure
to
the
benefit
of
the
richest
country
on
Earth.
We
all
used
to
believe
that,
for
example,
AT&T
or
GM
would
win
that
overseas
business
unless
someone
tried
to
bribe
Captain
Renault
into
awarding
it
to
someone
else.
Which
is
probably
still
true,
though
to
the
extent
it’s
not,
the
“non-American”
country
winning
the
business
will
still
likely
be
backed
by
Wall
Street
financiers
owning
massive
stakes.
It
may
not
be
all,
but
MOST
roads
lead
back
to
America.
Though,
as
the
tariff
debacle
revealed,
the
remedial
economics
club
running
this
administration
holds
a
few
centuries
outdated
mercantilist
worldview
that
divides
business
into
“American”
and
“Everyone
Else,”
and
thinks
the
laws
of
the
United
States
must
be
weaponized
only
against
the
latter.
So,
theoretically,
it’s
still
bad
news
for
Honda
to
bribe
a
country
to
buy
the
cars
made
in
the
U.S.,
but
it’s
still
fine
for
GM
to
bribe
a
country
to
buy
cars
built
in
Mexico.
Paradoxically,
blessing
“American”
bribery
only
incentivizes
foreign
officials
to
engage
in
more
pay-to-play,
resulting
in
more
bribery
schemes
that
compromise
American
businesses.
All
of
which
is
unnecessary
because
the
existing
FCPA
enforcement
regime
was
already
punishing
foreign
companies
that
bribed
people.
In
fact,
they
were
being
punished
MUCH
MORE:
[Duke
University
School
of
Law
professor
Rachel
Brewster]
said
the
administration
is
wrong
in
thinking
American
companies
are
unfairly
targeted
by
the
FCPA.
Foreign
companies
pay
fines
at
a
rate
three
times
higher
than
American
companies
for
FCPA
violations,
Brewster
added.Trump
heavily
implied
in
the
executive
order
that
“U.S.
corporations
need
to
be
able
to
bribe
and
they’re
being
harmed
internationally
if
they
can’t,”
Brewster
said.
“And
what
I’m
saying
is
that
that
is
incorrect,
because,
in
fact,
the
DOJ
did
…
go
after
foreign
corporations
that
bribe.”
The
FCPA
was
passed
in
1977
to
police
the
global
market
because
back
then,
we
had
a
government
that
realized
America’s
greatest
economic
strength
is
its
consumption.
Foreign
companies
need
access
to
the
U.S.
market
and
if
they
want
to
play
here
they
have
to
play
by
our
rules
everywhere.
The
fairer
the
competition,
the
better
for
the
U.S.
everywhere.
The
only
colorable
argument
for
abandoning
the
FCPA
like
this
is
that
the
U.S.
no
longer
boasts
that
market
power
because,
say,
there
are
Chinese
companies
out
there
that
just
don’t
need
U.S.
consumers
and
won’t
opt
into
the
U.S.
regulatory
regime.
Though
a
narrowly
tailored
set
of
exceptions
would
better
address
those
specific
scenarios.
But
nuanced,
research-driven
solutions
aren’t
this
gang’s
strong
suit.
Now,
FCPA
enforcement
is
its
own
corrupt
bribery
scheme.
Everyone
has
to
pay
us
in
the
form
of
business
they’d
rightfully
win
if
America
wasn’t
busy
lining
dictator
pockets
with
graft.
It’s
a
remarkable
admission
that
the
executive
branch
simply
doesn’t
believe
in
America.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
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Bluesky
if
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Joe
also
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Managing
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Search.