Anti-Bribery Law’s Pause Is a Gift to Corrupt Competitors

The White House claims American companies are losing business abroad because US law prohibits them from paying bribes. That’s just one of the fictions underpinning its ill-advised decision last month to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a move that threatens to unravel decades of progress in global anti-corruption efforts.

The administration argues that the FCPA has been “stretched beyond proper bounds” and “abused in a manner that harms the interests of the United States.” One can argue about the wisdom or propriety of any particular corruption probe. But on balance, this sentiment gets things backward: The law is both good for business and for America’s broader global interests.