As supply chain and procurement professionals are well aware, the past five years have seen a dramatic increase in supply chain transparency laws and regulations. Motivated largely by a desire to provide consumers with more information about corporate operations, these laws require manufacturers and retailers to know more than ever about what goes on at each stage of the supply chain – from the most granular to first-tier suppliers. With that in mind, Anza D’Antonio, assistant general counsel at A.O. Smith, and Sarah Rathke of Squire Patton Boggs co-authored an article that appears in the January/February 2016 edition of ACC Docket, entitled, “Complying with Transparency Requirements in Procurement and Avoiding Legal Pitfalls.”
The ACC article discusses the impact and requirements of prominent supply chain transparency laws and regulations such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010,the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, U.S. conflict minerals regulations, “Made in America” marketing and labeling requirements, and data privacy laws. It then discusses how to manage supply chain transparency disclosures properly. The article is intended for corporate counsel who have to manage these new supply chain transparency laws and regulations as part of their duties.
The ACC article is also a cautionary tale. It discusses the recent rash of California putative class action lawsuits alleging that corporations have misrepresented or mishandled their supply chain transparency obligations. A link to the article is here: Complying with Transparency Requirements in Procurement and Avoiding Legal Pitfalls.
