Editorial
Investors.com
4/17/2014
Regulation: In a victory for common sense, a federal judge has voided a race-based mandate of the Dodd-Frank Act that would have cost manufacturers and retailers billions in compliance expenses.
Marking the first time a court has ruled that a provision of Dodd-Frank violates the Constitution, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the financial “reform” law’s bizarre rule requiring companies to disclose whether their products contain “conflict minerals” from Africa violates the First Amendment.
As we’ve argued, the rule had zero to do with financial reform and was sneaked into the law by Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters to protect the Congo.
The little-noticed Dodd-Frank provision, tucked away under “Misc. Provisions,” requires manufacturers to prove the metals they use in products aren’t mined by rebels in the Congo and nearby countries.
Makers of cellphones, computers and consumer electronics, for example, must trace the origin of minerals back through their supply chains, then report to the SEC or face punishment.
It would have cost manufacturers at least $16 billion a year to comply by tracing the origin of tin and tungsten used in electronics and other items. They would have had to hire independent auditors to certify to the SEC their products use “conflict free” minerals…
The editorial continues at Investors.com
