Equally serious, the rule comes with a series of unintended
consequences. When it comes to practical terms, many electronics
manufacturers have stated that they are unprepared
to meet their new obligations as they do not have information available
on their usage of conflict minerals. The rule requires corporations to
look into complex supply chains and in some cases will force them to
find new suppliers. In fact, it is claimed that the US legislation has
caused a 'de facto embargo'
in some parts of DR Congo. This apparent success has led to a decrease
in conflict financing but at the same time increased poverty for mining
communities. In addition, when American and European buyers started to
draw back from conflict-ridden regions in the DR Congo, Chinese
corporations gained a virtual monopoly. Allegedly, they exploited this advantage to lower the prices of the minerals with 20 to 30 percent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/student-reporter/towards-electronics-free_b_4171929.html
No comments:
Post a Comment