While last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down most of President Trump’s tariffs has lowered import duties on many products, tariffs may have gone up for certain polished diamonds and gemstones.

Since Sept. 1 of last year, Antwerp had been allowed to import polished diamonds into the United States duty-free, as the result of a trade deal reached between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) that made items on the White House’s Annex III—including natural diamonds, gemstones, and pearls—tariff-exempt. In November, Switzerland also reached a trade deal with the United States, which meant that diamonds polished in Switzerland could be imported into the U.S. duty-free.

After the Supreme Court ruling last week, the Trump administration imposed a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, due to last for 150 days.

(The president has also threatened that the duty would eventually be raised to 15%—the maximum allowed under Section 122—but at press time, the level is still 10%. Yesterday, U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer told Fox Business that 15% was in the works.)

Trump’s initial proclamation about the new tariffs said that mined products not available in the United States would be excluded. Yet on Monday, when Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a roster of items exempt from the new duties, mined gemstones and diamonds were not on it. And because of that, industry experts say EU exporters should not assume diamonds still qualify for duty-free status.

“Without any evidence to the contrary, I believe it is reasonable to assume that this global 10% tariff likely includes loose natural diamonds, natural colored gemstones, and natural pearls from the EU and Switzerland, which previously enjoyed a 0% tariff as negotiated in the trade deals,” Sara Yood, president and CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, tells JCK.

“I would imagine that the U.S. trade representative is likely looking at options to reinstate the exemption,” she adds. “Unfortunately, at the moment, the administration is using a rather blunt instrument to reimpose its tariff policy after the Supreme Court overturned the previous strategy.”

Antwerp World Diamond Centre reached the same conclusion, according to a bulletin sent out today on its WhatsApp channel.

“One should assume a 10% (not 15%) tariff on all diamonds for the next 148 days,” the notice said. “This is until we receive clear confirmation otherwise. There is no confirmation on whether EU-polished diamonds are still tariff-exempt.”

There’s also frustration in India, where the prospect of a trade agreement between India and the United States raised hopes that natural diamonds polished in India would soon qualify for duty-free status.

However, on Tuesday, India’s commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that in light of the Supreme Court decision, the trade pact may have to be renegotiated, leaving things in limbo.

For the moment, Indian imports of natural and lab-grown diamonds are subject to the 10% global tariff. Indian-made jewelry incurs a 15.5% tariff, as it’s subject to both the 10% levy and a 5.5% most-favored-nation charge first imposed in 2007.

That is still lower than the 50% tariff that Indian exports were subject to for most of 2025, as well as the 18% duty negotiated in the pending trade agreement.

“There is still limited clarity regarding the final tariff treatment for natural diamonds and certain other product categories,” India’s Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) said in a statement. “The Council continues to maintain that natural diamonds should attract 0% duty, considering their status as a raw material.”

It added: “The U.S [trade agreement] is needed by the Indian gem & jewelry trade as both a stabilizing step and a strategic safeguard.”

GJEPC noted that from April 2025—when tariffs were first imposed—through January 2026, India’s gem and jewelry exports to the United States fell 45.49%.

(Photo: Getty Images)

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