Russia is preparing to impose export duties on select rough diamonds later this year in an effort to bolster the nation’s cutting industry, which has struggled under pressure from Western sanctions, Reuters reported.
Alexei Moiseev, a deputy finance minister, said yesterday that the government is discussing a “lenient” tariff framework with Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond producer by carat, to keep more stones inside the country for processing rather than export.
Moiseev said putting off any action could result in permanent losses to Russia’s diamond-cutting workforce. “If we wait a little longer, we will simply lose the expertise we still have,” he said, adding that the tariffs would apply only to stones considered cost-effective to cut domestically.
The United States imposed sanctions on Russia, including Alrosa, after the Ukraine invasion in 2022. A G7 ban on Russian diamond imports took effect in January 2024. With access to those key markets limited, Russian rough has increasingly been diverted to non-Western markets while policymakers attempt to sustain domestic value-added activity.
Russian export tariffs could benefit Botswana and other African producers because they would reduce global competition for rough stones, noted the Australian mining news site Discovery Alert. They also may give lab-grown manufacturers a boost if the supply of natural stones becomes less secure, it added.
“Once those [LGD supply chain] competencies are established,” said the Discovery Alert article, “the incentive to revert to natural rough, even if supply normalizes, diminishes significantly.”
The JCK News Desk uses AI to help research and produce the first draft of articles. This story was then reviewed by staff writer David Blomquist.
- Subscribe to the JCK News Daily
- Subscribe to the JCK Special Report
- Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazine
- Follow JCK on X: @jckmagazine
- Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
