G7 countries will introduce a ban on diamonds from Russia from January 1, 2024. This was reported by Reuters.
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The G7 will also introduce a phased ban on the import of Russian diamonds from third countries from around March 1, and will also create a reliable mechanism for the inspection and certification of rough diamonds by September 1.
The ban does not apply to industrial diamonds.
Earlier it became known that the 12th package of EU sanctions will gradually limit trade in Russian diamonds. This was reported by the AFP agency, whose journalists got acquainted with the Brussels plan.
From January 1, 2024, a ban will be introduced on “non-industrial natural and synthetic diamonds, as well as diamond jewelry.”
From March to September, a ban on the import of Russian diamonds cut or polished in third countries will be gradually introduced.
This phased introduction takes into account the need to deploy an appropriate traceability mechanism that enables effective measures and minimizes disruptions for market participants,” the European Commission document says.
Diamond exports from Muscovy in 2022 amounted to $3.8 billion, according to the BBC. The amount is not as significant as that from the sale of energy resources ($380 billion), but it is also large.
29% of the world’s diamonds are mined in Russia, making the ban vital. For a long time, the EU could not agree on an import ban due to the position of Belgium, which was against it, arguing that it was worth developing better ban and trace methods. However, now the sanctions have been imposed with the assistance of the G7 states.
Diamonds are very difficult to track due to their small size: they can be mixed with other goods or secretly transit through third countries. Now with the introduction of the ban, there is hope that, according to the draft, the ban will allow: “to introduce a mechanism for tracking diamonds in order to effectively respond to violations and minimize the work of market participants.”
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.