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 based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected…

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. You may have listened to webinars and read white papers on conflict minerals due diligence and compliance. But, if you haven’t done so already, now you actually have to get…

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 considerations above all other considerations when making investment decisions.  Amendments to the Labor Department’s “do-good investing rule” took effect on…

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 report on their use and sourcing of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG).  In 2014, SEC reporting companies began reporting…

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 as well. Those Union importers should be taking action now to supplement their compliance programs to address the due diligence,…

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. Based on our review of the 320 filings through May 27, 2020, 14 conflict minerals reports included references to “COVID-19,” “coronavirus” and/or the “pandemic. Four more reports mentioned “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in their forward looking statements disclaimers. One report included a reference to the…

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 year 2019 could be less robust as a result. As of May 13, 2020, based on our review, none of…