CEO DATELINE - Lawmakers roll back foreign disclosure rule for oil, mining companies
CEO DATELINE - Lawmakers roll back foreign disclosure rule for oil, mining companies
- February 15, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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Federal lawmakers have repealed a Dodd-Frank Act rule requiring oil and mining companies to disclose their payments to foreign governments, scoring an early victory in the Trump administration for groups such as the American Petroleum Institute and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
President Donald Trump signed a House joint resolution Tuesday nullifying the Securities and Exchange Commission rule, which was enacted under the Obama administration. The rule, which was mandated by Dodd-Frank, required companies to disclose payments made to governments for the development of oil, natural gas and minerals.
Supporters of the rule called it an important tool for fighting political bribery in many third world countries. Opponents included API and the Chamber, which filed a joint lawsuit in 2012 to overturn the mandate. A federal court vacated the rule and sent it back to SEC, which adopted a revised version last year.
In a statement Tuesday, API CEO Jack Gerard said the oil industry could provide the transparency the rule sought without harming U.S. workers. He instead pointed to voluntary disclosure efforts such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which was launched in 2003.
"Our industry offered a model for an SEC rule that would achieve disclosure requirements without putting U.S., publicly-listed energy producers at a disadvantage to foreign competitors around the world who are not subject to any disclosure," Gerald said.
Trump recently signed an executive order calling for a full review of Dodd-Frank. Another rule reportedly under consideration for repeal is the conflict minerals rule, which requires companies to disclose whether their products contain certain minerals from war-torn African nations. The Chamber, Business Roundtable and National Association of Manufacturers filed a lawsuit in 2012 challenging the rule. http://bit.ly/2lPzucU
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