The US will require importers to state the mining provenance of diamonds entering the country, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said last month.
The new rules for enforcing sanctions on Russian goods will come into effect in April, according to a Trade User Information Notice dated January 14, which CBP distributed on January 23.
Those filing diamond imports in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the US government’s electronic system for shipment declarations, will have to “provide the country of mining,” the notice said.
It did not specify whether they needed to give evidence or the carat sizes to which the rule applies. As of September 1, 2024, the US has banned imports of Russian nonindustrial diamonds weighing 0.50 carats or more.
Meanwhile, importers of jewelry that excludes diamonds will be able to “disclaim the additional data requirement,” the notice added. CBP will continue to require diamond importers to provide self-certification statements verifying that the products “do not contain Russian inputs.”
The US government proposed the plan in October 2024, under President Joe Biden, and sought feedback. It supports Biden’s December 2023 executive order, which itself built on a March 2022 directive imposing import restriction on Russian goods.
CBP also issued 17 questions and answers related to sanctions on diamonds and seafood.
Image: The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) headquarters in Washington, DC. (Shutterstock)