United States: SEC Provides Relief From Enforcement Actions Regarding Certain Portions Of The Conflict Minerals Rule

On April 3, 2017, the District Court for the District of Columbia (the "District Court") entered a final judgment (the "Final Judgment") in the case of National Association of Manufacturers, et al., v. SEC. The Final Judgment affirms the prior holding of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in National Association of Manufacturers that Exchange Act Section 13(p)(1) and Rule 13p-1 (together, the "Conflict Minerals Rule") violate the First Amendment to the extent the Conflict Minerals Rule requires regulated entities to report to the SEC and to state on their websites that any of their products have "not been found to be DRC conflict free." The Final Judgment solely sets aside the portion of the Conflict Minerals Rule that requires regulated entities to report to the SEC and make the website statements. The District Court remanded, in all other respects, to the SEC.

On April 7, 2017, the staff of the SEC's Division of Corporation Finance (the "Staff") issued guidance on the impact of the Final Judgment on the Conflict Minerals Rule (the "SEC Guidance"). The SEC Guidance seeks to reduce the uncertainty surrounding the Conflict Minerals Rule with regard to potential enforcement actions, given that the Final Judgment and the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals in National Association of Manufacturers leaves open the question of whether the description of being "DRC conflict free" is required by statute, or instead, a product of the SEC's rulemaking. The Staff explained that it will not recommend enforcement action to the SEC if companies (including those subject to paragraph (c) of Item 1.01 of Form SD) only file disclosure under the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of Item 1.01 of Form SD. However, the Staff expressly noted that the SEC Guidance is still subject to any further action taken by the SEC and does not express any legal conclusion on the Conflict Minerals Rule itself.

The Final Judgement is available here.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in National Association of Manufacturers is available here.

The SEC Guidance is available here.

Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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