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
“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
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
In a January 21, 2016 release titled Extension of Comment Period for Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers, the Securities and Exchange Commission extended the comment periods for the revised proposed Rule 13q-1 (and the related amendment to Form SD). That proposed rule relates to the disclosure of payments by resource extraction issuers in connection with the commercial development of … Continue Reading
As we discussed in posts on September 3, 2015 and on October 2, 2015, Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act required the SEC to issue resource extraction payment rules. The purpose of those rules was to promote the federal government’s desire for transparency about resource extraction payments made by commercial entities to governments around the world. The initial … Continue Reading
April 24, 2015 – May 1, 2015 The summaries provided in this Weekly Recap do not necessarily represent the views of Squire Patton Boggs (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 … Continue Reading
January 2, 2015 – January 9, 2015 The summaries provided in this Weekly Recap do not necessarily represent the views of Squire Patton Boggs (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 … 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
Today, Monday May 12, the second Form SD and Conflict Minerals Report was filed with the SEC by Affymetrix, Inc. Affymetrix described itself as a “provider of life science products and molecular diagnostic products.” Consistent with our usual practice, we will not provide a critique of the filing here. However, it is worth noting that, like … 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
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 7, 2014 – March 14, 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
On September 5, 2013, Responsible Sourcing Network and the Enough Project published a paper detailing certain stakeholders’ expectations about the form and content of a company’s Form SD and Conflict Minerals Report. The authors fire a warning shot to reporting companies – telling them what components certain observers deem important and urging companies to report additional factors that … Continue Reading
For months, many have been pressing for additional guidance from the SEC on the conflict minerals rule. Finally, on May 30, 2013, the SEC staff provided a bit of that guidance. The FAQs cover some of the questions that have been raised almost continuously since the rule was issued last August. But, the guidance is limited to only 12 questions and, for the … Continue Reading
Even before our blog was introduced last week, clients and friends were using reference materials and resources we posted or developed since the Conflict Minerals Rule was issued in August of 2012. Here are several of the most widely used reference materials and resources. We are making them available so that you can use them as you develop your own policies and procedures: A … Continue Reading
On August 22, 2012, the SEC promulgated the long-awaited Conflict Minerals Rule. The Conflict Minerals Rule requires any reporting company having conflict minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product manufactured or contracted to be manufactured by that reporting company to file a report with the SEC on Form SD, disclosing … Continue Reading
