Trump Wants to Dismantle Wall Street Reform. Here’s What That Could Mean for…Congo

Jul 27, 2017 | Carol Jean Gallo
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The Trump administration’s hostility toward the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (aka the Dodd-Frank Act) should come as no surprise, given Trump’s campaign promise to dismantle the entire law. Last month, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives gutted the law with its own bill, the Financial CHOICE Act. While it’s highly unlikely that anything resembling the House bill will pass in the Senate, the administration’s determination to upend the Obama-era law could usher in the complete repeal of some provisions – including section 1502, which regulates conflict minerals. Under section 1502, companies that buy particular minerals must demonstrate due diligence by documenting their supply chains to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), showing whether or not those components originate from a mine controlled by an armed group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or a neighboring country.

If the administration is successful in repealing section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Act, what might that mean for the DRC?