Could you please explain why US this should be reported? Where do we get smelter information?

a. This is required to be reported only by the companies who have filing obligations with New York Stock Exchange Commission. However, a customer may request their supplier for CMRT details as their customer may have asked them even though they are not publicly traded, much of the cases are fall in this scenario i.e., a customer requirement.
b. One needs to get the smelter info from suppliers, while it is not so simple, tier1 has to request tier2 and tier2 has to request tier3 and the request shall go till the last tier supplier level where they have smelter info. The same information is compiled and cascaded back to Tier1

Is sourcing from DRC and the adjoining countries against the law?

Sourcing of conflict minerals from DRC and the adjoining countries is not against the law unless and until the smelters are not RMI certified.

Difference between US and EU?

Is it mandatory to report Cobalt? Is there any government regulation?

As of date, there are no imperative regulatory compliance requirements for Cobalt. But it is always a good practice to abide by the regulations and make this world a healthy and safe place for everyone.

What is Auto Gen CM CS?

The Auto Gen Conflict Minerals Compliance Suite (Auto Gen CM CS) is a sophisticated but easy-to-use application that greatly simplifies your requirements for accurate conflict minerals reporting. The tool also has a very simple and effective workflow aimed at significantly improving the productivity of compliance managers in this domain.

I understand Obama issued a decree, but what does it say? What is a regulatory requirement for US manufacturers or users of CM-containing products?

A US SEC filing company must report the origin of 3TG in their products as per section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank act. For the users of CM (if they are not publicly traded in the USA), it is not required and it might become a customer obligation if your customer or final customer is listed in  SEC.

Is it mandatory to submit CMRT to the customer even if 3TG is not used in the products?

Yes, it is mandatory to submit CMRT to the customer even if 3TG is not used in the products where Q1 (Is any 3TG intentionally added or used in the product(s) or the production process?) in the “declaration” tab should be filled as “No” indicating that 3TG is not used in the products.

What is the connection between SEC and conflict minerals regulation?

SEC’s role in CM regulation is to check whether the business is done through a proper channel; if the whole process dealing with conflict minerals is done legally.