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Leaders from the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) came on the Rapaport Diamond Podcast to report on talks with government officials over potential tariff relief.
John Ford, CEO of the trade body, and Bruce Bridges, its president, revealed the tactics they were employing to get diamonds and gemstones from key markets exempted from US import duties.
The pair had just returned from two days of meetings with members of the House of Representatives and senators.
They explained how the industry had been successful in getting diamonds, precious stones and natural pearls added to Annex III, a list of products that the US had expressed willingness to allow into the country tariff-free subject to trade agreements.
They outlined the onerous process of obtaining a Potential Tariff Adjustments for Aligned Partners (PTAAP) agreement for each source country, necessary for a 0% rate to take effect. They also explained their ongoing efforts to have diamonds and gemstones added to Annex II, which would entail a global exemption.
While Thailand, India and Sri Lanka are the top priorities, AGTA is also lobbying to get exemptions for Israel, Japan and Australia, Ford revealed.
Speaking ahead of next week’s AGTA GemFair in Tucson, Arizona, the duo also described the state of the gemstone market and why the sector had not suffered from synthetics replacement in the same way that diamonds had.
Listen to the episode here:
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