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White House eyeing executive order targeting 'conflict minerals' rule - sources

Donald Trump

U.S President Donald Trump is planning to issue an executive order targeting a law on Conflict Minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It has not yet been established when exactly the order will be issued, or exactly what it will say. But the controversial Dodd-Frank rule requires companies to disclose whether their products contain “conflict minerals” from a war-torn parts of Africa, according to sources familiar with the administration’s thinking.

The conflict minerals rule was pushed by human rights groups who want companies to tell investors if their products contain tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten mined from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the hopes it will help curb the funding of armed groups.

But business groups have staunchly opposed the measure, saying it forces companies to furnish politically-charged information that is irrelevant to making investment decisions.