The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted a rule mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that requires publicly traded companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals (tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten) originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country.
Using Form SD, companies must annually disclose to the SEC their use of conflict minerals if they are “necessary to the functionality or production” of a product manufactured or contracted to be manufactured by the company. 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 DRC or an adjoining country. The bill requires that all disclosures be posted for public viewing on company websites.
The final rule and the SEC’s “Fact Sheet” for companies can be read online. Questions should be directed to a company’s existing customs brokers and/or legal counsel. Background information on the Frank-Dodd Act can be found in the “International Trade” section of the TIA website.
This post was originally written by the Toy Industry Association and published at ToyAssociation.org. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.
