In its first two months, the Biden Administration has given significant attention to climate-related and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure issues. February 1, 2021 — The SEC announced the appointment of Satyam Khanna as the Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and ESG. He is to oversee the SEC’s efforts relating to climate risk and … Continue Reading
Now that the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (EU Regulation) is in full effect, EU importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold and derivative products need to determine whether they are covered by the EU Regulation. Those EU importers that are covered by the EU Regulation are required to implement a supply chain due diligence process … Continue Reading
If you are an EU importer of tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold (3TG) covered by the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, as of 1 January your due diligence process must comply with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance. Non-compliance may have serious legal and reputational consequences.… Continue Reading
In yesterday’s post, we said we expected that the Biden Administration would re-focus attention on the US conflict minerals rule. In a similar vein, by the end of Inauguration Day, the Biden Administration indicated that it wants a review of recent amendments to a Labor Department rule that require that ERISA plan fiduciaries put financial … Continue Reading
It’s Inauguration Day in the US, and it’s likely to be a new day for the US conflict minerals rule. Where have we been and where are we going? 2012 – 2016 Pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, the SEC issued its conflict minerals rule in 2012, requiring reporting companies to … Continue Reading
In less than 7 months, the EU conflict minerals regulation will take full effect, and importers into the European Union of certain threshold amounts of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) and of metals containing 3TG will be subject to it. As of today, despite Brexit, importers into the UK will be subject to it … Continue Reading
We have been following this year’s conflict minerals filings to determine whether reporting companies have highlighted any impact of the COVID-19 shut-downs on their conflict minerals due diligence measures or results.… Continue Reading
As we discussed in a previous post, early in 2019, some companies were expressing concern that, because of the impacts of the shut-downs associated with COVID-19, certain of their suppliers might not be able to provide responses to their conflict minerals inquiries in a timely manner. They worried that their conflict minerals disclosures for calendar … Continue Reading
You will recall that on March 25, 2020, to address certain challenges created by COVID-19, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the Order that extended the filing periods for certain public company reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act. The relief granted by the Order applied to specific Securities Exchange Act reporting requirements. However, … Continue Reading
As of March 26, 2020, the filing deadline for Form SD’s is unchanged from the May 31 deadline included in the text of the Conflict Minerals Rule (and in the instructions to the Form SD). Note: because May 31, 2020 is a Sunday, the filing deadline for the Form SD’s for reporting year 2019 is … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce the launch of our EU Conflict Minerals Regulation Flowchart, which promises to be a valuable tool for those charged with compliance with the EU conflict minerals regulation. In 2017, the EU adopted its conflict minerals regulation, which is intended to help businesses identify and address the risk that 3TGs (tin, tantalum, … Continue Reading
While many companies are working to complete their due diligence and prepare conflict minerals disclosure for their SEC filings due May 31, others are considering whether they will be subject to the EU conflict minerals regulation when its due diligence and disclosure obligations take effect on 1 January 2021.… Continue Reading
You’re no doubt working hard to complete your due diligence analysis and finalize your Form SD (and Conflict Minerals Report) as required by the US Conflict Minerals Rule. But, around the corner is another conflict minerals regime that could impact your business — the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation. The EU’s due diligence and disclosure obligations … Continue Reading
The out-of-pocket costs of compliance with the SEC conflict minerals rule have been lower than those originally estimated by industry and by the SEC. But, it’s not because the original estimates were over-stated or inflated. And, these lower than expected out-of-pocket costs don’t mean that business’ concerns about compliance were misplaced. These lower costs have resulted mostly (but … Continue Reading
Today, on June 8, 2017, the US House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act by a vote of 233 to 186. The bill was sponsored by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). The headline of the bill is that it would reverse much of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection … Continue Reading
At long last, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation was published today in the Official Journal of the European Union. The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation 2017 (as published) will enter into force 20 days after publication (June 8, 2017) and take effect 1 month after that (July 8, 2017). The effective date is January 2021, but companies would … Continue Reading
With only 19 days left before the SECs Form SD filing deadline, there is still a lot of talk about consequences of the SECs April 7, 2017 Statement (“April 2017 Statement”). In that statement, the SEC staff indicated that it would not recommend enforcement action to the Commission if a company that is otherwise required to … Continue Reading
Those hoping for updated SEC guidance that would relieve or reduce companies’ conflict minerals diligence and disclosure obligations for calendar year 2016 got only a fraction of what they wanted. Last Friday, April 7, 2017, the SECs Acting Chair Michael Piwowar issued a statement that said “it is difficult to conceive of a circumstance that … Continue Reading
Today, April 3, 2017, the European Council took the last procedural step and approved the EU conflict minerals regulation. Publication in the Official Journal of the European Union will be the next and final step of the process. The publication could occur in 3 to 6 weeks. Here is the text of the official EU Conflict Minerals … Continue Reading
The proposed EU conflict minerals regulation has almost reached the last step before becoming an official EU regulation. On March 16, 2017, the European Parliament voted to approve the regulation, and the Council of the EU is expected to formally approve it in the weeks to come. The Council’s vote will be the last step … Continue Reading
“Hear ye, Hear ye.” The parties to the legal challenge of the SECs conflict minerals rule have agreed that no further court proceedings are necessary and have requested that the US District Court enter a judgment in accordance with the decisions of the Court of Appeals — that is, that certain elements of the rule violated reporting entities’ First … Continue Reading
You may have read that President Trump signed an executive order repealing or waiving the SEC conflict minerals rule. Not true — at least not yet. As of February 14th, no executive order relating to the conflict minerals rule had been signed. But, a leaked draft of an executive order and rumors about a plan … Continue Reading
In a move that has already been widely reported, on January 31, 2017, the SEC’s Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar issued a statement on the SECs conflict minerals rule, in which he directed the SEC staff to “consider whether the [April] 2014 guidance is still appropriate and whether any additional relief is appropriate in the interim.” … Continue Reading
Almost two months after the negotiations of the EU conflict minerals regulation were concluded, there has been some movement towards the end of the European legislative cycle. On January 24, 2017, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee approved the text of the conflict minerals regulation submitted following the three-way trilogue negotiations that were completed on … Continue Reading
