March 9, 2017
Acting Chairman Piwowar:
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments regarding the U.S. SECs reconsideration of the Conflict Minerals Rule. I very strongly believe the rule has raised investor, enterprise and consumer awareness on the need for programs that assure legal and ethical sourcing. As citizens of the most powerful and influential country in the world, we cannot take casually our influence over the legal and financial risk of irresponsible sourcing practices. Practices that have put conflict minerals, cobalt and other materials such as cotton and palm oil as primary commodities with direct ties to human trafficking. and a number of other commodity traceability programs on the U.S. corporate agenda. The U.S. set the standard for this issue, which resulted in similar initiatives by U.S. states, the European Union and countries across the globe. Technology and improvements in tracing and verification are contributing to high success rates, better sourcing practices and for these reasons, I strongly believe it would be a terrible mistake to repeal or stay the Conflict Minerals 1502 requirements.
Sincerely,
Marc Abraham