WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following the Federal District Court’s decision on the SEC’s “Extractive Issuers Rule” today, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, issued a statement on the ruling in favor of a business coalition that includes the Chamber:
“Today’s ruling by the federal district court is a victory for consumers and for America’s energy security. The SEC’s ‘extraction rule’ would have placed American oil and natural gas companies at a huge disadvantage around the world by forcing them to turn over their playbooks for how they bid and compete against foreign, state owned companies. In addition, compliance with the SEC rule would violate the law in several countries in which U.S. firms do business.
“The court ruled today that the SEC misread the statue to mandate public disclosure of reports regarding how companies operate. Instead of publically releasing information, for instance, the SEC could have simply required companies to file confidential reports.
“In addition, the Court agreed with our coalition that the SEC made an arbitrary and capricious decision to deny any exemption for countries that prohibit disclosure of payments.” As Judge Bates wrote in the opinion: “More fundamentally, given the proportion of the burdens on competition and investors associated with this single decision, a fuller analysis was warranted. A general statement about incentive problems with a broad version of the exemption does not satisfy the requirement of reasoned decision making when, by the Commission’s own estimates, billions of dollars are on the line.”
The business coalition challenging the rule included the American Petroleum Institute, Independent Petroleum Association of America, and the National Foreign Trade Council.
For more information, please visit the National Chamber Litigation Center’s webpage for the case: https://www.chamberlitigation.com/api-and-chamber-commerce-et-al-v-us-securities-and-exchange-commission-sec
The mission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.
NCLC is the public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that advocates fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.