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Guidelines Set on Conflict Minerals Regulation
August 5, 2010 | IPCEstimated reading time: 1 minute
If the jewelery industry has an issue with blood diamonds, the electronics industry and supply chain has its own: Conflict minerals. A new bill, the Financial Reform Bill (HR 4173), has been recently signed, wherein Sec. 1502 states that manufacturers are required to report annually to the SEC if their products contain "conflict minerals" from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The new law will apply to manufactured goods containing tin, tantalum, gold and tungsten. Companies will also be required to submit a due diligence plan with the company's annual SEC report. The SEC has 270 days to finalize regulations to implement these requirements, which are expected to ultimately flow down to the entire electronics supply chain.
In a separate but related effort, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), a 32-country organization, is currently developing a framework on "Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain Management of Minerals From Conflict-Affected and High Risk Areas (www.ipc.org/OECD-Draft)." The United States is a member of the OECD. As a result, these developing guidelines may be considered by the SEC as they draft regulations to implement the requirements under Section 1502.
The OECD aims to finalize its framework by the end of September at an international meeting in Nairobi on conflict minerals. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), of which IPC - Association Connecting Electronics Industries, is a member, has joined the working group at the OECD to provide feedback into the OECD process. NAM will be finalizing their comments to the OECD this Friday, August 6, 2010.
For more information on conflict metals regulations, e-mail FernAbrams@ipc.org.