U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will allow diamond and diamond jewelry importers to self-certify their gemstones’ “country of mining” to comply with a new requirement for that information, officials tell JCK.
That means the new “country of mining” rule—which goes into effect in April—will work much the same way that U.S. sanctions on Russian diamonds do: At the time of import, companies must self-certify where their diamonds were mined but are not required to provide documentation backing that claim. However, they should maintain records with that information to give to Customs if requested. Documentation could include certificates of origin, certificates of mining, or purchase orders, according to CBP.
The agency has yet to name the particular date in April 2025 that the “country of mining” requirement will take effect. It has also not specified if the declaration will be required of importers bringing in diamonds weighing less than a half-carat, or if the new rule would apply to “grandfathered” diamonds—which, as currently defined, refers to diamonds weighing at least 1 ct. that were purchased prior to March 1, 2024, or diamonds from 0.5 ct. to 1 ct. that were purchased before Sept. 1, 2024.
(Importers of “grandfathered” goods must self-certify that their items were purchased before the specified dates and provide backup for their claim on demand. Suggested language can be seen here.)
Grandfathered diamonds, as well as any diamonds under a half-carat, are exempt from sanctions—so it would make sense that importers would not have to supply “country of mining” information for those categories of stones. A Customs spokesperson did not answer queries from JCK on the issue by press time.
CBP did, however, clarify two questions:
– If a piece of diamond jewelry, or a parcel of diamonds, contains stones from multiple locales, the importer will have to list the mining country for each stone, using separate line items.
– Lab-grown diamonds are not subject to sanctions or the new requirements, nor are industrial diamonds.
Importers will still have to supply the stone or jewel’s “country of origin”—meaning, where it was “substantially transformed” (manufactured or cut and polished)—the same way they do now.
CBP has said trade members with questions or concerns about the upcoming rule change should email kpmailbox@cbp.dhs.gov.
(Photo by Mani Albrecht, courtesy of CBP)