in effect
This is Executive Order 14209, signed February 10, 2025, by the President and published in the Federal Register on February 14, 2025. It directs the Attorney General to pause and reassess how the U.S. government enforces the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a 1977 law that bars bribery of foreign officials. The order frames FCPA enforcement as interfering with the President’s authority over foreign affairs and with American economic competitiveness.
For 180 days from the order’s date, the Attorney General must review the government’s FCPA enforcement guidelines and, during that window, stop starting any new FCPA investigations or enforcement actions unless the Attorney General personally makes an exception. The Attorney General must also review all existing FCPA cases and take “appropriate action” on them, then issue updated enforcement guidelines. That 180-day review period can be extended once, for another 180 days. Once new guidelines are issued, any FCPA case going forward must follow those guidelines and be specifically authorized by the Attorney General, who must also decide whether past cases warrant remedial measures. The order creates no new legal rights and is subject to existing law and available funding.
The Attorney General and the Department of Justice carry out the review and hold the new authority to approve or decline FCPA cases. American companies and individuals doing business abroad are the parties the order says it aims to shield from what it calls overexpansive enforcement, and anyone currently under an FCPA investigation could see their case reviewed and acted on. The order does not itself repeal the FCPA or create enforceable rights for any private party.