Alert to TIA Members: New Conflict Minerals Provisions in Financial Reform Bill

A new U.S. law that forbids publicly traded companies from purchasing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo was included in the financial reform bill passed last week.   

As outlined in Section 1502 of the bill, companies will now have to submit an annual report to certify where their minerals come from and what measures were taken to ensure that they did not originate from conflict areas. A product may be labeled as “DRC conflict free” only if it does not contain minerals that directly or indirectly finance or benefit armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo or an adjoining country.  The bill requires that all disclosures be posted for public viewing on company websites.

Questions should be directed to a company’s existing customs brokers and/or legal counsel.

TIA will continue to monitor the situation and keep members apprised of further developments.