The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), the umbrella organisation for Antwerp’s diamond sector, has announced the achievement of a zero per cent import tariff for natural polished diamonds under a new trade agreement between the European Commission and the United States, reports 24brussels.
Part of wider US decree
This exemption is included in a US decree, retroactively effective from 1 September, which provides tariff waivers for trading partners that establish agreements on industrial exports, including 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 decision is expected to have a global impact, allowing other major diamond-cutting countries to secure advantageous 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 acknowledged the contributions of all stakeholders in the diamond sector, along with 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.”