Flake Expects Modifications to SEC Conflict Minerals Reporting Rule, ITI Seeks Changes

SEC conflict minerals reporting requirements had overall mixed results, witnesses told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee panel. Chairman Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told us the panel will consider whether any legislative action is needed. “The SEC is limited in scope in what they can do, and all the witnesses agree that a more comprehensive approach that involves governance by the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] is going to be necessary, but we realize the limitations of the current government in the DRC,” he said. “We’ll consider” whether legislation is needed, he said. Acting Chairman Michael Piwowar announced in January the SEC is reconsidering whether to continue advancing the reporting requirements. The agency didn't comment. The rule brought transparency to supply chains of tungsten, tin,= and tantalum originating in the DRC, but had limited effects disrupting gold smuggling and violence of armed groups, Information Technology Industry Council Senior Vice President-Environment and Sustainability Rick Goss testified. The U.S. government should reconsider elements of the conflict minerals reporting requirement and should build off conflict minerals' due diligence guidance by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (here), said Goss.