The United States this week officially joined a global anti-corruption initiative focused on improving transparency in the oil, gas, and mining industries.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on March 19 accepted the United States as a “candidate” country, making it the first G8 country to achieve candidate status. Candidate status means the United States is implementing EITI, but not yet meeting all its requirements.

Specifically, EITI standards require full disclosure of taxes, royalties, and other fees paid to host countries from the oil, gas, and mining sectors. The intent of the EITI initiative, officially developed in June 2003, is to combat corruption and ensure transparent management of natural resources. Under EITI, extractive companies disclose what they pay to governments, and governments disclose any payments they receive from the sector.

In a prepared statement, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell said the approved candidacy application of the United States “marks another significant milestone” on the road to EITI implementation. “In addition to global leadership by example, our goal in pursuing U.S. EITI implementation complements the Obama Administration's commitment to reforming and modernizing management of domestic natural resources overseen by the Department of the Interior,” she said.

In September 2011, President Barack Obama announced the United States' commitment to domestic implementation of EITI, an important element of the president's Open Government Partnership commitments. As part of that effort, President Obama appointed Jewell as the senior U.S. official to lead U.S. EITI implementation.  

So far, 44 nations in all are implementing the EITI standards. In addition to the United States, other candidate countries include Indonesia, Philippines, Honduras, and 14 other nations. Countries that are meeting all EITI requirements include Norway, Peru, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Ghana, and 21 other nations.

As a candidate country, the United States will now move to produce its first EITI report within the next two years and complete the remaining requirements to reach EITI compliance.