It’s January 2017, and some believe it will be the last year for the SECs conflict minerals rule. Political and Legislative Environment President Trump’s inclination to roll back regulation reduces or even eliminates the likelihood of a Presidential veto of any Congressional action to repeal Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the SECs conflict minerals … Continue Reading
As we approach the end of conflict minerals compliance year 4 (with 3 years of reports behind us), companies are budgeting for how they will address conflict minerals in 2017. Since the SEC rule took effect, supply chain professionals and in-house lawyers have found that compliance is complicated, time-consuming, and still changing because of the … Continue Reading
What Just Happened? April 7, 2016 was the deadline for filing a petition for writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court seeking a review of the court of appeals’ decision on the conflict minerals rule. The SEC did not file the petition, and Amnesty International (the intervenor in the case) did not make the … Continue Reading
The next and last step of the legal challenge of the SEC’s 2012 conflict minerals rule would be for the SEC to file a petition for writ of certiorari to the U. S. Supreme Court. The deadline for making that filing has been extended again, this time from March 9th to April 7th, 2016.… Continue Reading
Many of you are asking what is happening with the EU conflict minerals regulation, what is the likely timing for adopting the regulation, and what should you do now to prepare. Process — The development of the EU conflict minerals regulation has now entered the final negotiation phase. This phase, known as the “trialogue negotiations,” involves informal meetings between the … Continue Reading
Companies and industry groups have been working for over 3 years on investigation and due diligence processes to determine the source and chain of custody of the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) in their products. But, there could now be pressure to add to the list of conflict minerals. Compliance Week raised this question last week in … Continue Reading
When the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s conflict minerals rule was issued in 2012, US reporting companies (and their suppliers) developed and implemented conflict minerals compliance programs. Companies have continued to enhance and beef up their programs since then. Now, companies should be supplementing their compliance programs to be ready to address the requirements of … Continue Reading
We have been watching the EU process for some time, eager to determine when the EU conflict minerals regulation will finally be adopted. A source familiar with the EU Council proceedings has told us about the Council’s next steps, which will determine when the final consensus of the regulation can be expected. The Council of the EU is currently developing its … Continue Reading
Note: The following event is to take place on November 3, 2015 at 8:30 A.M. EDT at Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP, 4900 Key Tower, 127 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44114 and will not be broadcasted via webinar (i.e., this event must be attended in-person). Companies have been living with the SEC’s conflict minerals … Continue Reading
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, featured our very own Dynda Thomas, founder and leader of Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP’s conflict minerals team, in a video presentation titled Conflict Minerals Reporting Challenges U.S. Companies and Their Suppliers. Dynda provides background on the conflict minerals rule, discusses the application of the rule, and describes … Continue Reading
Editors Note: A prior version of this blog post incorrectly attributed the sentence in bold below. We sincerely apologize for any confusion this may have caused. This version has now been corrected. Views on the Draft Regulation The draft EU conflict minerals regulation is a voluntary system of certification, which covers imports of the minerals … Continue Reading
The European Union (EU) is considering legislation that would regulate the importation of conflict minerals into the EU. The European Commission announced its proposed regulation on March 5, 2014. The draft regulation contains proposals for a voluntary self-certification process for importers of conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, and tungsten and gold) into the EU from anywhere … Continue Reading
Companies are unsure of how to prepare for the year 2 filings while the legal challenge is still pending and there is uncertainty about exactly what the reporting requirements will be when the filing deadline finally arrives. Legal Challenge to the Conflict Minerals Rule In the last few posts, we’ve discussed the legal challenge to the conflict … Continue Reading
As required by the November 18, 2014 order, NAM filed its Supplemental Brief on December 29, 2014, arguing that the April 2014 decision by the Court of Appeals should be upheld and that the product description required by the conflict minerals rule violates the First Amendment. Brief of NAM NAM argues that the product description required … Continue Reading
As required by the November 18, 2014 order, the parties in NAM v. SEC filed briefs responding to questions about the First Amendment issue that were posed by the Court of Appeals. This post summarizes the briefs filed by the parties that want the product description requirements of the conflict minerals rule to be upheld. … Continue Reading
We’ve been waiting for months. And now, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has granted the SEC’s petition for rehearing of the court’s April 2014 decision that found that certain disclosure requirements of the conflict minerals rule violated the First Amendment. The parties have been ordered to file supplemental briefs to discuss: The effect of … Continue Reading
Between May 8 and May 13, briefs on the trade associations’ emergency motion for stay were filed by the SEC, the trade association petitioners, an industry coalition, and Amnesty International. Two steps remain — First, the oral argument in American Meat Institute, which is set for May 19. American Meat Institute is a case involving a First Amendment … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, April 29, 2014, Keith Higgins, the Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, released an eagerly awaited statement on the effect of the Court of Appeals decision on the conflict minerals rule. Two weeks ago, the Court of Appeals found that the conflict minerals rule violated the First Amendment when it required reporting … Continue Reading
Today, two SEC Commissioners issued a joint statement indicating that they believe that the effectiveness of the conflict minerals rule should be stayed pending the final outcome of the legal challenge because they believe that the district court could conclude that the entire conflict minerals rule is invalid. In part, they said: “The First Amendment concerns permeate … Continue Reading
Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd. is the first company to file a Form SD, with a filing in the early morning hours of April 24, 2014. A Conflict Minerals Report is filed as an exhibit to the Form SD. The company files under the “seminconductors and related devices” SIC code. According to the company, no independent … Continue Reading
March 14, 2014 – March 21, 2014 The summaries provided in this Weekly Recap do not necessarily represent the views of Squire Sanders (US) LLP and should not be deemed to be endorsements of them. The Recap is intended to be a compilation of articles and events to encourage discussion within the conflict minerals community and to keep our … Continue Reading
If you previously spent time pouring over the SEC’s Form SD to develop your compliance approach, you’ll want to be aware that in January the SEC posted a “new Form SD” on its website. But, the new form won’t require any changes to your programs or disclosure because the new form is nearly identical to the form issued … Continue Reading
The European Commission’s legislative proposal for a European approach on conflict minerals has been delayed. The EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht had, earlier this year, promised a proposal for an “effective but reasonable” EU system to encourage responsible sourcing of minerals produced in what he called “conflict areas” before the end of the year. … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, September 17th, EU Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, spoke at a Public Hearing of the Committee on Development in Brussels. He spoke about the role of extractive industries in developing countries in promoting development through responsible business practices. In that speech, de Gucht confirmed that the EU approach to conflict minerals is … Continue Reading
