Taking Back the Narrative on Dodd-Frank’s Conflict Minerals Provision

Dec 15, 2015 | Per-Olof Loof
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I recently had the privilege to testify before the House Financial Services Committee’s Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee (Nov. 17, 2015). The hearing was held as part of continued oversight of the Dodd-Frank Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2010. The focus of the hearing was on the conflict minerals provision in Dodd-Frank, which directed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue rules requiring companies to disclose whether they source “conflict minerals” – tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold – from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its neighboring countries. These minerals are used in countless products, from cell phones to satellites. These rules were developed out of concern that the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals by armed groups is helping to finance conflict and humanitarian strife in the DRC and its nine neighboring countries.