by Jeff Yoders on FEBRUARY 9, 2017

The Trump administration is reportedly considering an executive order that would suspend the conflict minerals rule of the Dodd-Frank banking regulation bill.

The conflict mineral rule requires reporting of supply chains to enforce a ban on tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s backed by human-rights groups but many businesses say the rule, as is, requires a swath of industries to investigate whether their products contain metals that could have been sold by armed groups so far down their supply chains that it’s impossible to tell where it came from. Reporting has been spotty even under the current rules.

The proposed executive action, drafted last week and reviewed Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, would suspend the conflict-minerals rule for two years. Business groups have fought the rule in court, saying its requirements are costly and burdensome.

US Sells Crude Oil From Strategic Reserve

10 million barrels of crude from the U.S.’s strategic reserve are scheduled to be sold later this month, the Department of Energy said.

The shipment is part of a total 25 million barrels, to be sold over a period of three years, as per the 21st Century Cures Act, signed in December last year.