The U.S. government finally acknowledged Friday it cannot determine which refiners and smelters around the world are financially fueling violence in the war-torn Congo region.
The Commerce Department published a list of more than 400 sites from Australia to Brazil and Canada, but said it “does not have the ability to distinguish” which are being used to fund militia groups. ...
“The Commerce Department is trying to bring clarity to the rule, but as with everything else on this issue, only sows more confusion and deprives businesses of certainty,” said Tom Quaadman, vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness. “At the end of the day, the conflict minerals rule creates the worst outcome—it has not helped lessen the conflicts in the Congo and creates economic harm in the U.S.”
via blogs.wsj.com
If the government can't figure it out, with all their drones and spy satellites, and multiple intelligence agencies, how are companies supposed to do so? Yet, if the companies screw up, that same government will be suing them for disclosure violations. It was a stupid rule and ought to be repealed. Now.
