Tariffs: Jewelers of America Call for Diamond Exemption
August 24, 25
(IDEX Online) - Jewelers of America (JA) met representatives of the Trump administration last week to restate the case for exempting diamond imports from the newly-introduced US tariffs.
They discussed the impact of tariffs - currently 25 per cent, and rising to 50 per cent from India, the world's biggest diamond exporter by far - and the possibility of adding diamonds to the Annex II list of products excluded from tariffs as a critical mineral.
The core argument is that the US does not produce natural diamonds, but is the world's largest consumer market. As such, tariffs act solely as a consumption tax. There is no diamond mining sector to protect.
David Bonaparte, JA president and CEO said: "Tariffs are a huge concern for the jewelry industry and their full impact on pricing and consumer confidence is yet to be seen. We are aggressively communicating to key members of the Trump administration to ensure the jewelry industry's voice is heard."
He and other trade representatives met Peter Navarro, senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, in Washington last week.
The World Diamond Council (WDC) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) have also argued that tariffs should be added to the Annex II list.
JA is urging members to share their personal experiences with President Trump on how tariffs are affecting their businesses by visiting the JA Legislative Action Center.