Responsible supply chains Report on the virtual conference on the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation from 13-14 January 2021

The report on the conference “The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation - Perspectives from Producer Countries” from 13-14 January 2021 as well as the set of recommendations produced during the conference are now available in English. To mark the entry into force of the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation on 1 January 2021, the BMZ together with the business association Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) had invited to a virtual multi-stakeholder conference.

The aim of the event was to identify opportunities and risks of the EU Regulation and to develop recommendations for action to promote an effective implementation in the coming years. An additional objective was the networking between different stakeholders along mineral supply chains. Exchange formats like the virtual conference are essential to identify the impact EU regulations can have on companies and producing countries and to close possible information gaps.

The regulation on the trade of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs), adopted by the European Union in 2017, aims to break the link between mineral extraction and conflict financing. Since 01/01/2021, the import of certain minerals, namely tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold, into the EU is regulated by law across Europe: Importers of the so called 3TG-minerals, whose annual import volumes exceed volume thresholds set by the EU Commission, must prove that they comply with corporate due diligence and thus do not contribute to human rights violations and conflict financing.

If you are interested in the Word version of the set of recommendations or have any other questions, please contact Christina Ankenbrand (External link) or Hannah Maul (External link).