European polished diamonds escape US import tariffs
The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the umbrella organisation for Antwerp’s diamond sector, has secured a zero per cent import tariff for natural polished diamonds under the new trade agreement between the European Commission and the United States. The AWDC announced the breakthrough in a press release on Wednesday, crediting it to “intensive negotiations.”
Part of wider US decree
The exemption forms part of a US decree, retroactively effective from 1 September, which grants tariff waivers to trading partners that strike agreements on industrial exports such as nickel, gold, other metals, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
“In concrete terms, this means that diamonds of European origin, for example, polished in Antwerp, will likely not be subject to the standard tariff of 15 per cent, but can be accepted at zero,” the AWDC stated. “This is a huge boost for the Antwerp diamond sector in general and will give the Antwerp cutting industry a boost.” The centre added that the decision will also have a global impact, enabling other major diamond-cutting countries to secure favourable tariffs.
Importance of the US market
“With a total annual export of 2.1 billion USD from Antwerp to the US market, the US is a very important trading partner for Antwerp,” the AWDC noted. “AWDC has strongly focused on this issue because it is incredibly important and benefits our competitiveness as a trading and cutting centre,” said Karen Rentmeesters, CEO of AWDC.
Rentmeesters also praised the role of all partners in the diamond sector, as well as the Belgian government and the European Commission. “They have been able to make it clear that a 15 per cent import duty would not benefit the US jewellery market in any way, but would primarily harm consumers. After all, there are no diamond mines and hardly any diamond-cutting factories active in the United States, meaning there is no industry to protect.”
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
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