Starting in April, all diamond importers in the United States will be required to declare the country of origin for their goods. This new regulation, announced by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), aims to strengthen enforcement of sanctions against Russian diamonds.
Since March 2023, importers have been required to certify that their diamonds are not from Russia. However, they have not been asked to provide specific details about the diamond’s country of origin until now.
The move follows a ban imposed by the G7 nations, including the US and EU, which restricts diamonds from Russia. The ban applies to diamonds weighing 1 carat or more starting in March 2024, and to diamonds of 0.5 carats or above from September 2024.
Despite these sanctions, Russia is still believed to be exporting around 40% of its diamond output. These exports are largely made up of diamonds that fall below the size threshold or are considered industrial-grade.
In its statement, CBP confirmed that it will begin collecting additional data on jewelry imports, including diamonds and seafood, from April. Importers will be required to submit the country of origin for mined goods, uploading a PDF document on company letterhead to CBP’s automated commercial environment (ACE) document image system.
This new requirement will apply to both loose diamonds and jewelry containing diamonds, but jewelry without diamonds will be exempt. The CBP announcement did not specify the carat size threshold for the country of origin declaration.
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