"Why the EU's new deal on responsible mineral sourcing is a missed opportunity", 11 Jul 2016

EU officials have reached a “political understanding” on a new law intended to clean up the European minerals trade. It is certainly a welcome step in the right direction, but when a giant leap is sorely needed…it also looks to us like a missed opportunity. What is good about the deal? Companies that import tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold ores and metals into the EU will now be required — for the first time — to check their supply chains for risks, and to publicly report on what they have done about them. The agreement also pledges to respect the leading international standard for responsible business in mineral supply chains. [T]he agreement still represents a missed opportunity. [O]nly companies importing ores and metals will have to check their supply chains. Companies that import the very same minerals inside components or products will not be required to do anything at all. Lost is also the opportunity to use the commercial leverage of EU companies and consumers to drive positive change outside of the EU. The EU must now make it clear to companies left out of the law that…that their engagement with the responsible sourcing movement is still both expected and desired.