Posted on April 15, 2025
In what is already being called the Trump anti-bribery pause, the Executive Order signed on February 10th marks a dramatic shift in global ethics. On February 10th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order initiating what is now referred to as the Trump anti-bribery pause, temporarily halting the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law prohibiting U.S. companies and individuals from engaging in bribery overseas.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), passed in 1977, prohibits U.S. entities from bribing foreign officials. It has long been considered a cornerstone of America’s global leadership in ethical business standards. The Trump administration’s pause reframes it as a strategic hindrance rather than a virtue.
According to the official White House executive order…
“Current FCPA enforcement impedes the United States’ foreign policy objectives… Overexpansive and unpredictable FCPA enforcement against American citizens and businesses… actively harms American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security.”
In short, the U.S. is now pausing its enforcement of anti-bribery laws—on the grounds that bribery may serve the national interest.
This is not a routine policy change. It is a redefinition of national ethics. The FCPA has, for decades, represented America’s effort to bring a measure of integrity into global commerce. This Executive Order recasts that integrity as a liability.
The implications are global, but also deeply internal. The implications of the Trump anti-bribery pause go far beyond U.S. business strategy—they challenge the moral foundation the U.S. once claimed abroad.
A government speaks not only for itself, but for its people. When that government declares that corruption may be necessary for advantage, it is not just adjusting legal strategy—it is redefining the character of the nation it represents.
This is no longer about Trump, nor even strictly about foreign policy.
It is about what America now claims to be.
Framing the Trump Anti-Bribery Pause
Proposed Constitutional Amendment:
Amendment XXVIII:
The United States shall, when required for the preservation of commercial advantage or national security, permit its representatives, agents, or corporate actors to engage in conduct abroad which would be unlawful, unethical, or indictable within its own jurisdiction, provided such conduct enhances strategic access to minerals, infrastructure, or influence deemed vital to the national interest.
The people, being sovereign, shall accept such conduct as consistent with the will of the Republic, and no law shall be construed to limit this exception, so long as its fruits benefit the competitive standing of the nation.
What do you think? is this reading too much into a strangely worded Executive Order?
Pause or Permanent?
Whether this pause is temporary or becomes a lasting precedent, it challenges the global understanding of American legal and moral consistency.
You can browse related thoughts at stillthinking.org.
Still Thinking.
