The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) will once again accept goods at its international labs that need to be shipped to the US for service.
The institute temporarily suspended international shipment due to the new tariffs US President Donald Trump issued. Instead, it beefed up lab services at its international locations to compensate. Services at international locations have returned to normal as well, the GIA said in a letter to clients Tuesday.
“At this time, all GIA laboratories have resumed accepting goods according to their local service criteria,” the GIA stated. “All locations outside the US will also resume accepting items to be shipped to GIA in the US for services.”
The GIA labs in Hong Kong and Dubai will continue to accept D- to Z-color diamonds up to 9.99 carats, the GIA noted. The company warned customers using special couriers to ship goods to its US locations against thinking this method would avoid tariffs, noting it would not be responsible for any taxes incurred.
“We understand that some courier companies are offering options, including foreign trade zones (FTZ) and temporary import bonds (TIB), for the temporary import of goods into the US and their reexport,” the GIA noted. “The use of these options provided by the courier companies, along with any logistics arrangements or other coordination for direct shipments of goods to GIA in the US for GIA laboratory services, is the responsibility of the courier and their customers. Currently, there is no mechanism to ship rough diamonds to the US for laboratory services without incurring a tariff.”
Image: GIA dossiers. (Shutterstock)
