Boeing Should Stop Fighting Rules Related to Congo Conflict Minerals

On Nov. 17, Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner landed for the first time at Washington's Dulles International Airport. Just three days later, the town of Goma, the main mineral trading hub in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, temporarily fell to rebels in the latest chapter of a brutal 15-year war.

While the now-beleaguered Dreamliner was never likely to land at Goma's dilapidated airport, there is a disturbing link between the aircraft, Congo's mineral-rich eastern provinces and Washington, D.C.

The metals found in Congo's lucrative mines -- tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold -- are used to make jet engine parts, as well as cellphones, computers and jewelry.

Armed groups in eastern Congo have made a fortune by controlling mines and trading routes, from where minerals are sold into international supply chains and then to American manufacturers. For more than a decade, profits from the minerals trade have helped warring parties fund a fight that has killed more than 5 million people.

In 2010, Congress set out to change this by passing Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The conflict minerals provision requires U.S.-listed companies that use tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold to carry out checks on their supply chains -- known as due diligence -- to determine if their purchases are fueling conflict in Congo, and to publicly report their findings. Currently, the world's major airline manufacturers do not typically disclose this information.

In August, after a 16-month delay largely caused by aggressive industry lobbying to weaken and put off the law's implementation, the Securities and Exchange Commission published the final rule for Section 1502.

Now efforts to address the conflict minerals trade are under attack again. The Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable have filed a lawsuit against the SEC to overturn the conflict minerals rule. A cruel twist of fate saw the trio issue their specific concerns to the SEC in Washington just a few days after the first Dreamliner landed at Dulles and hours after Goma fell to the rebels.

Boeing, which has a seat on NAM's board and whose representative is the executive committee chair of the Business Roundtable, appears to be at the forefront of the fight to overturn the rule.

Throughout the rule-making period for Section 1502, Boeing attended 10 meetings with representatives of the SEC -- more than any other company. Most of the meetings took place alongside members of NAM and the Chamber of Commerce.

In comments submitted to the SEC, Boeing indicated that the final rule on 1502 would be too costly and burdensome to comply with, given "the complexity of modern supply chains."

As the world's largest aerospace company, Boeing's influence within the industry -- let alone over its own supply chain -- is considerable. Boeing's attempt to kill Section 1502 through anonymous corporate lobby groups is misguided and irresponsible.

Industry associations are driven by their members. Companies that are members of the chamber, NAM or the Business Roundtable and support legal action against 1502 should come clean and say so publicly. Firms that disagree should issue statements distancing themselves from the lawsuit. Remaining silent can only be read as support for the lawsuit -- and is tantamount to supporting the gruesome conflict in eastern Congo.

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