I attended an invitation-only event today at the offices of Schulte Roth & Zabel on the topic of conflict minerals compliance. Speaking were Michael Littenberg of the Schulte Roth law firm and Kevin Hyams and Peter Manzetti of accounting, audit and assurance firm Friedman LLP. In attendance were about 12-15 corporate executives. I assume they represented their companies’ compliance departments … Continue reading
One of the interesting dimensions of Dodd-Frank Section 1502 is its impact on the competitiveness of the companies it affects. I’m in the middle of a study of the impacts of this law on companies. I’ve conducted over a dozen interviews so far and have found that most companies tend to have one of three … Continue reading
Hundreds of people turned out on Tuesday, December 13 for a day-long discussion titled, “Transparency, Conflict Minerals and Natural Resources: What You Don’t Know About Dodd-Frank.” The event was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and was co-hosted by The Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank and Global Witness, a non-governmental … Continue reading
So What Are the Costs of Due Diligence? In practice, individual companies are looking at three kinds of costs to ensure due diligence is effective. First, the integration of conflict mineral due diligence requirements into their contracts with first tier suppliers. The NAM estimates “the collective cost to change legal obligations across the 5,995 issuers … Continue reading
A year ago, the European Parliament asked the Commission to develop a European version of the Dodd-Frank legislation, which establishes disclosure regulations relating to the use of conflict minerals by companies, and was passed by the US Congress in July of 2010. However, in Brussels, skepticism persists as to whether any such measure will be … Continue reading
Efforts to render minerals supply chains more accountable have indeed had unintended adverse effects. As I have written here before, commanders such as Bosco Ntaganda have benefited from smuggling and thousands of people may have been put out of jobs. There is no doubt that the implementation of the law has been sorely wanting, and … Continue reading
David Aronson’s op-ed “How Congress Devastated Congo,” misses the critical link in eastern Congo: the continuing role of the minerals trade as a fuel for violence and a major source of revenue for armed groups and military units responsible for atrocities. The Dodd-Frank legislation is the first policy initiative to start to change that equation … Continue reading
…Unfortunately, the Dodd-Frank law has had unintended and devastating consequences, as I saw firsthand on a trip to eastern Congo this summer. The law has brought about a de facto embargo on the minerals mined in the region, including tin, tungsten and the tantalum that is essential for making cellphones. Read article. (New York Times.)
Thanks to the “conflict minerals” provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, thousands of the world’s poorest people will lose their jobs. Why? Simply because they come from the same country as other people who live in war-torn regions of conflict where rebels have used proceeds from mineral sales to wage civil wars and harm civilians. … Continue reading
If there’s one thing we need to understand about Africa it is how little we understand about Africa. No single place in Africa may be as misunderstood as the Democratic Republic of Congo which sits at the bloody heart of two decades of unrest. (Those wishing to get up to speed may consider obtaining a … Continue reading
