University of Utah law professor Jeff Schwartz testified in Washington D.C. this week, telling the House Financial Services Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee that the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 —in which public companies are required to monitor their supply chain for minerals mined from regions controlled by militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo —is not effectively curbing companies from using “conflict minerals” in their products.
Schwartz’s article, which is forthcoming in the Harvard Business Law Review, examines the inaugural data submitted by companies to the SEC—and whether the disclosures helped with supply chain transparency. His research and testimony before Congress indicates that the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 isn’t having its desired effects. The rule “is a failure in its current form, because the filings that companies have submitted to the SEC in response do not provide sufficient insight into conflict mineral supply chains,” he said in the hearing, which was covered by the Wall Street Journal.
Read Schwartz’s paper, “The Conflict Minerals Experiment” »
See to Schwartz’s testimony here: