“Country of Mining” Requirement for Diamond Imports Put on Hold

By Rob Bates | February 27, 2025

The United States is postponing its plan to require diamond and diamond jewelry importers to declare the “country of mining” for every stone they import, according to a note on the fifth page of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP)’s deployment schedule issued Feb. 21.

The “country of mining” requirement had been scheduled to begin in April, according to a rule change that was posted Jan. 14. But the newer CBP schedule lists “TBD” (to be determined) as the enactment date for the requirement, which it calls “Russian Sanctions Phase 1: Mandatory Data Collection.”

The CBP press office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Sara Yood, president and CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), tells JCK that it “appears that the situation is very much in flux.”

She says: “JVC welcomes CBP’s delay of implementation of the ‘country of mining’ field…. The rollout of this requirement was not communicated well, and many of our members received conflicting guidance about compliance directly from CBP. Although JVC had submitted a timely comment regarding this implementation, it was not addressed before the change was announced.”

Companies still must self-certify that any rough and polished diamonds one-half carat and above that they import into the United States do not originate from Russia. (So-called grandfathered goods are an exception, though they require a certification specifying when they were purchased.) Any self-certifications are subject to government audits, and on a few occasions CBP officials have requested origin info from shipping companies.

In related news, the European Union has postponed its requirement for polished diamond traceability information until Jan. 1, 2026. The EU requirement had been slated to take effect March 1, 2025—though sources told JCK in January they expected that wouldn’t happen. This marks the second time it has been pushed back (it was originally scheduled for September 2024).

While the EU is postponing the potentially problematic polished requirement, it is also beefing up its rules for rough shipments. After March 1, Kimberley Process certificates that list diamonds as “mixed origin” will no longer be accepted. Instead, Kimberley Process certificates must list all countries of origin in their parcels. (The EU also allows an exemption for “grandfathered” goods.)

Antwerp World Diamond Centre CEO Karen Rentmeesters said in a statement that her group “welcomes” the decision to delay the new requirement.

“At this stage, there is still considerable uncertainty about how the traceability system will function and how it will be governed, and the G7 must first clarify these aspects,” she said. “Diamond companies now have much-needed time to adequately prepare for its implementation in their daily operations.”

Russia “continues to export large volumes of diamonds to countries outside the G7, which allows them to still enter the polished diamond markets,” she added. “To prevent the European diamond sector from being disproportionately disadvantaged once again, a level playing field within the G7 is essential. Measures must be applied and enforced uniformly across all member states, particularly in major consumer markets such as the U.S.”

(Photo: Getty Images)