Trump pauses law barring firms from bribing foreign officials, viewed as potential relief for Adani

In an executive order issued on Monday, Trump said that FCPA was “systematically..stretched beyond proper bounds..and abused”. This harmed presidential power to conduct American foreign policy and meet foreign policy objectives by harming American business competitiveness, he added. For this reason, the President ordered the AG to come up with new guidelines under the act, and pursue only those cases based on these guidelines personally approved by the AG.

“Overexpansive and unpredictable FCPA enforcement against American citizens and businesses — by our own government — for routine business practices in other nations not only wastes limited prosecutorial resources that could be dedicated to preserving American freedoms, but actively harms American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security,” the order said.

Even though the order is driven by the stated intent to give American companies more room to operate businesses elsewhere, it might also apply to other companies whose actions fall within the ambit of the act. This leaves the decision on whether to pursue the case against the Adani Group and eight of its senior executives, including Gautam Adani, under the discretionary authority of the US Department of Justice (DOJ).