U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to temporarily decriminalise American businesses from giving or taking bribes from foreigners, saying the policy’s economic consequences far outweighed the benefits.

Mr Trump said the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), despite looking good on paper, was in reality sabotaging numerous U.S. businesses across the nation and overseas.

“The title is so lovely, but it’s an absolutely horror show for America,” Mr Trump said. “So we’re signing it because that’s what we have to do to make it good… It’s going to mean a lot more business for America.”

“It sounds good on paper, but in practicality, it’s a disaster,” the president said about the FCPA, explaining that U.S. citizens conducting business on foreign soil “illegally or legitimately” already stand a chance of getting investigated and indicted — a law he said will dissuade prospective foreign business partners.

“It means that if an American goes over to a foreign country and starts doing business over there illegally, legitimately or otherwise, it’s almost a guaranteed investigation indictment. And nobody wants to do business with the Americans because of it,” Mr Trump said.

Enacted in 1977, the FCPA was originally intended to make it illegal for “certain classes of persons and entities to make payments to foreign government officials to assist in obtaining or retaining business.”

But the U.S. Department of Justice contends that many entities have exploited the law to serve their own interest at the expense of the United States.

The DOJ said the FCPA has been “stretched beyond proper bounds and abused in a manner that harms the interests of the United States,” adding that it also harms economic competitiveness and national security.”

Mr Trump therefore ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to review the FCPA and revise its wording to enforceable rules within 180 days.