President Biden signed an executive order on Dec. 22 that aims to keep diamonds mined in Russia but polished elsewhere from entering the United States.

But unlike communications from the European Commission this week, the United States provided few details about how the ban will be enforced.

Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC) president and CEO Tiffany Stevens says that the U.S. move is “significant.”

“The United States has said the magic words, that they are taking action against diamonds mined in Russia,” Stevens says. “This executive order is a broad statement, but we believe that the U.S. Treasury will put out more specifics in January. Our understanding is that it will not initially be as restrictive as what the European Union put out. But we don’t know, and we are all just awaiting the details.”

In January, the JVC plans to hold a town hall with Brad Brooks-Rubin, senior adviser in the U.S. State Department, that is meant to provide more information on how the trade can meet its new obligations.

Government officials have previously indicated that the U.S. ban on Russian-mined polished will start in March—which is when the rest of the G7 will implement its sanctions, starting with diamonds that weigh one carat or more.

A White House fact sheet said the executive order will “make it more difficult for specific Russian goods to enter the United States after being modified in a third country. In the coming months, the United States and our partners intend to introduce import restrictions on certain diamonds mined, processed, or produced in Russia, building on an existing U.S. ban on the importation of Russian-origin diamonds.”

The executive order amends one Biden signed in 2022 that allowed Russian rough and polished diamonds to enter the country if they were “substantially transformed” elsewhere.

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