SEC Publishes FAQ Document On Conflict Minerals

On May 30, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Frequently Asked Questions document addressing twelve points of uncertainty lingering from publication of the SEC's final Conflict Minerals rule in August 2012.  Of the twelve items, the one that had generated the greatest confusion was whether packaging necessary to allow a product to be sold in usable form would be considered part of the product.  For example, for canned soup, would the "product" be the soup, the can, or both?  Similarly, would the foil packaging needed to preserve the integrity of light-sensitive drugs be part of the product?

In a footnote within a brief filed in the pending appeal concerning the conflict minerals rule, the SEC hinted  that it did not intend packaging to be considered part of the product (see previous post), but the FAQ document now confirms that this is the case.