18 December 2019.

The SEC voted today to release the proposed rule for Section 1504, a provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act...Section 1504 mandates regulations requiring all oil, gas, and mining companies listed on US stock exchanges to disclose the payments they make to government by project and by company. The SEC issued a strong rule in 2016 that Oxfam welcomed, but this rule was removed in 2017 by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed by President Trump. “This rule looks like a product of insider Beltway wheeling and dealing that prioritizes shady deals and irresponsible corporate actors over real American security,” said Isabel Munilla, Policy Lead for Extractive Industries Transparency at Oxfam America...Today’s proposal is followed by a 60-day comment period, after which the SEC will vote on a final rule. Commissioners Jackson and Lee voted against the proposal, arguing that a range of weaknesses needed to be fixed...

...Section 1504 inspired an international standard for oil and mining transparency. Sister laws soon followed in 30 countries, including in the European Union, Canada, and Norway. Today, Companies like BP, Shell, Total, Rio Tinto, and BHP Billiton, the world’s largest miner, as well as Russian and Chinese state-owned companies are publishing what they pay. “Companies are disclosing all over the world, at little to no cost,” said Munilla...The American oil industry has historically challenged mandated disclosure reforms...

If implemented properly, Section 1504 should counter the corruption and government abuse that catalyzes conflict, instability, and violent extremism around the world. It would also help protect American investors by giving them information they can use to assess investment risks in global markets. in fact, investors worth over $10 trillion in assets under management support project-level payment disclosures and alignment of the draft rule with the international standard on transparency...