The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently criticized the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) new proposed rule to implement Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which involves disclosure of corporate data to competitors, after a previous rule was struck down in court.
“There appears to be no meaningful difference between this rule and the previous rule struck down by the courts, so our concerns remain the same,” API Director of Tax and Accounting Policy Stephen Comstock said. “The SEC’s rule forces U.S. companies to disclose proprietary information to its competitors while foreign entities do not. This can give some large industry players an advantage on future business projects, and can fundamentally harm American jobs.”API called for a rule that provides for disclosure while also protecting U.S. companies' competitive strengths.
“The SEC ignored industry efforts to disclose information, but to do so in a way that doesn’t give competitors an unfair advantage,” Comstock said. “The industry actively supports the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which takes a global approach, already includes 51 countries and promotes transparency while putting all companies on equal footing. We need to take a closer look at the impact of the new rule on our operations and determine our next steps. The prior court case held that the SEC’s initial rule was arbitrary and capricious.”
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