Partial Victory For the SEC on its Conflict Minerals Rule

The recent ruling by the Court of Appeals has no impact on whether or not issuers are obligated to conduct due diligence, a reasonable country of origin inquiry, or file a Form SD or CMR. Ultimately, the ruling was over the semantics involved in classifying products as “DRC conflict free” in reports filed with the Commission and on the company web site. The SEC will be investigating the label applied to companies that are compliant with section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Rule.

Celia Taylor’s article clarifies the impact of the Court of Appeals decision, saying, “Issuers are still obligated to determine if they are subject to the rule, to conduct a reasonable country of origin test if they are so subject, and to conduct due diligence on their supply chain and must file a conflict minerals report if it believes its conflict minerals may have originated in covered countries.”

Ultimately, Source Intelligence is finding that many large companies are choosing to take a socially responsible course of action because they recognize that the court of public opinion is overwhelmingly in favor of the responsible production of goods. A growing number of Source Intelligence’s customers of its conflict minerals service are not even subject to the Dodd-Frank Rule. These companies recognize that whether it is the SEC or NGO’s that are carrying the message about which corporations are responsible or irresponsible is immaterial. The message will be heard, and it is well worth the effort to investigate supply chain activities to avoid the costs or reap the benefits of being classified in either camp.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act Section 1502, is mandated by the federal government to provide transparency into corporate practices and specifically to reduce funding for armed groups involved in human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding countries. Source Intelligence, the leading provider of Conflict Minerals compliance programs, is available to assist with any issues you may have in reaching compliance and is providing complimentary access to their exclusive Webinar Library. 

To learn more, request a demo of the platform here.