Walmart and Target are among top American marketers who are trying to limit a new federal law that would require them to report whether their store-brand products contain so-called conflict minerals
from war-torn Central Africa. The law is aimed at reducing violence, specifically in eastern Congo, where income from those minerals fuels conflict.
Many U.S. companies, including makers of
medical devices, cell phones, airplanes and machine tools, will be affected by the requirement because the minerals are in the products they manufacture. But those who carry private-label goods argue
that, since they don't control the manufacturing process, they shouldn't have to comply. The Securities and Exchange Commission will decide just who is considered a manufacturer.
Representatives from Best Buy, JC Penney, Costco, Lowe's, Wal-Mart and Target met with SEC officials last month to air their concerns. The commission must write rules by April to put the law into
practice.
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