Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1447212
14 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2022 At that time, the companies directly or indi- rectly sourcing from, or directly operating in this region, faced higher risk of contribut- ing to the conflict. To that end, the electron- ics/microelectronics industry was on the front line. ese concerns spurred much debate and led to substantial activities by the U.S. Con- gress in dealing with the issues. Aer a con- certed work and plan, the Dodd-Frank Act eventually passed the U.S. Congress and was signed into law on July 21, 2010. In August 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Com- mission (SEC) adopted a rule mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- sumer Protection Act, which requires compa- nies to publicly disclose their use of conflict minerals that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining coun- try. e first required report had to be filed by May 31, 2014. Basically, the U.S. Conflict Minerals Law contains two requirements: independent third-party supply chain traceability audits and reporting of audit information to the public and SEC. Dodd Frank 1502 is a disclo- sure requirement and places no ban or pen- alty on the use of conflict minerals. However, a company is required to assess whether any conflict mineral was "necessary to the func- tionality or production" of a product man- ufactured or contracted for manufacture by the company. To comply with SEC regula- tion, whether a company, which contracts out production, holds the influence over the item being contracted is also to be assessed and determined. Although it is not illegal to use conflict min- erals, corporate social responsibility is on the line. e ultimate goal is to be "conflict- free." On this front, some corporations are in the forefront. For instance, Apple released its "2011 Supplier Responsibility Report," detail- ing how it traces its supply chain—first to the suppliers that created the subcomponents to their products and then to the smelters that processed the ores. Intel has conducted "on- site reviews on smelters" as part of the Con- flict-Free Smelter Program. Since then, the conflict minerals have been "managed successfully." Addressing Today's Critical Needs With the handling of conflict minerals as an exemplar, there is perhaps an even more urgent need to rally another concerted effort to tackle the critical materials/minerals. Overall, critical materials/minerals will have an overarching impact on the entire supply chain to all indus- tries, and once again, electronics/microelec- tronics is on the front line. At present, the supply chain is in an unprec- edented state, filled with disruptions and hur- dles as the result of a slew of factors and root causes. On top of an intertwined, complex sys- tem, the pandemic for the past two years has exacerbated the disruptions and further ele- vated the complexity. Simply put, the funda- mental supply chain issues can be attributed to the decades of globalization, off-shore man- ufacturing, and continuing, fast-paced tech- nological changes, in conjunction with many diverse suppliers being embedded in each product. Consequently, managing today's global supply chain is a daunting task; secur- ing reliable sources of materials/minerals is becoming ever an uncertainty. It is time to reignite the spirit and reboot the system to set out a national strategy incorpo- rated with a robust plan and actionable agenda to navigate through the pathway of securing Although it is not illegal to use conflict minerals, corporate social responsibility is on the line.