SEC Confirms Conflict Minerals Rule Remains (Largely) In Place

May 6, 2014 | Rakesh Gopalan, Alex J. Brackett, Richard W. Viola and Jane Whitt Sellers, McGuireWoods LLP
View Original

Yesterday the Division of Corporate Finance of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its much-anticipated guidance regarding its conflict minerals rule, stating that, with the limited exception of provisions recently struck down by a federal appeals court as unconstitutional, companies are expected to comply with all aspects of the rule. In a decision issued on April 14, 2014, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the court rejected all challenges to the rule other than those regarding the requirement for companies to disclose to the SEC and on their websites their products that are not found to be "DRC conflict free" (see our client alert summarizing that decision). The Division's statement confirms that the bulk of the conflict minerals rule—including the analysis of minerals that are necessary to the functionality or production of a product, the reasonable country of origin inquiry, the separate chain of custody due diligence requirements, and the filing of conflict minerals reports—remains applicable to companies for the upcoming filing deadline of June 2, 2014.