EU’s Trade Deal with India Includes Tax Cut on Polished Imports

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) has confirmed a newly minted trade deal between the European Union and India will include a reduction of import duty on EU-origin diamonds.

The drop in the tax, which will go down to 2.5% from its current 5.5%, applies to natural diamonds polished in the EU and shipped to India, the Belgian organization said Tuesday. This part of the deal follows sustained lobbying by the group, working with the European Commission (EC), it explained.

The reduction provides a strong boost for Antwerp as a polishing center and improves its competitiveness with other trading hubs. It would also engender a more positive outlook for Belgian exports to India, one of the fastest-growing jewelry markets, the AWDC claimed. Additionally, if the lower import duty becomes structurally fixed, it would create greater long-term predictability for the Antwerp diamond trade, the organization added.

The move builds on the progress the AWDC and EC have already made in boosting Antwerp as a diamond hub when they helped negotiate the tariff rate for importing EU polished into the US down to 0% from 15%. That deal made the Belgian city the only major trading hub with tariff-free imports to the US.

“We are extremely please with the outcome of the long-awaited trade agreement between Europe and India,” said AWDC CEO Karen Rentmeesters. “This is an important boost for the Belgian diamond sector. Diamonds polished in Europe will now be able to enter India at a more favorable tariff than before, and also compared to other major trading hubs.”

Image: Polished diamonds. (Shutterstock)