Diamond Industry Hopes to Exempt Its Product From U.S. Tariffs

By Rob Bates | May 12, 2025

The World Diamond Council is asking the industry worldwide to join together to get natural diamonds exempted from U.S. tariffs.

U.S. imports from India, where most natural diamonds are cut, are currently subject to a 10% tariff, though that is set to increase to 26% in July.

There have been signs the Trump administration will modify its position on trade. It announced today that the tariff on Chinese imports would be reduced from 145% to 30% for 90 days, as the U.S. and China work on a more “fulsome agreement.”

The industry plans to lobby the administration to list natural diamonds on the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s Annex II, which specifies which products are exempt from tariffs. Raw gold, platinum, and silver are currently on that list.

“The United States doesn’t contain any kimberlites,” De Beers CEO Al Cook tells JCK. “Regardless of what tariffs are in place, you will never have diamond mining jobs in the United States.”

A statement from the World Diamond Council (WDC)—which represents the industry at the Kimberley Process—said that around 193,000 Americans work in jewelry stores and that natural diamond tariffs put their jobs at risk.

“Tariffs on diamonds would function as a consumption tax, raising prices on engagement rings, anniversary gifts, and other jewelry purchased by American families,” the statement said. “Retailers are already reporting concerns about inventory pressures, and the uncertainty is beginning to translate into higher prices for consumers.”

World Diamond Council president Feriel Zerouki, who is De Beers’ vice president for corporate affairs, says the WDC supports any efforts to help the U.S. industry. She notes that members of the jewelry trade in India and other countries have agreed to lobby their governments to remove any tariffs on diamonds imported from the U.S.

“We need our members to ask for relief for the U.S. trade,” Zerouki says. “If the tariff is zero into the U.S., it should be zero from the U.S. as well.”

Adds Cook: “It will be a great outcome as the result of all of this if all countries removed their tariffs on natural diamonds.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick—a former backer of jewelry e-tail site Ritani—has suggested that items not typically produced in the United States, such as mangoes, could be exempt from future levies.

(Photo: Getty Images)