U.S. conflict minerals regulations and the electronics industry

Despite the “end” of the second Congo War in 2003, widespread violence continues. Following the success of the “blood diamonds” campaign, in 2008, human rights groups began a public relations campaign targeting consumer electronics companies for their use of “conflict minerals.” Lobbying of the U.S. Congress resulted in Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act provisions requiring companies listed on the US Stock Exchange to report on their use of conflict minerals. Implementation of the regulations is expected to ripple through the global electronics (and other industries) supply chains. The proposed regulations, which were released in November 2011, are already having significant and unintended consequences.