EU agrees on framework to stop trade in conflict minerals

On 15 June 2016, the European Union (the “EU”) has agreed on a framework to stop the financing of armed groups through trade in conflict minerals. The proposed EU regulation will build upon the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for responsible mineral sourcing. The legislation will apply to many of the metals and minerals imported into the EU and it will cover metals and minerals that are used in everyday products, such as tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold.

The framework agreement includes mostly obligations for EU upstream companies to source raw metals and raw minerals responsibly and to check the origin of materials that they purchase. In addition, measures will be taken, such as the development of reporting tools, to improve supply chain due diligence by EU downstream companies, which use these metals and minerals as components in their goods.

The official press release here.

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