(jckonline.com) - The deputy general counsel of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Sara Yood, has been very busy of late, helping the industry navigate the Russian sanctions imposed by the Biden administration, which include sanctions against Russian diamonds. Below, she talks about the current state of play regarding Russian goods and what may be coming in the future.
For now, the sanctions against Russian diamonds are limited to direct dealings with diamond miner Alrosa and buying rough or polished diamonds directly from Russian entities. However, they do allow for diamonds that are “substantially transformed” (meaning cut and polished) in another country. Could that change?
It’s certainly possible that we may see some kind of change, including changing the import ban to not allow for diamonds “transformed” elsewhere. A recent letter from members of Congress encouraged tightening that pathway. I think the chance of the Office of Foreign Assets Control [OFAC] adjusting their guidance on that is fairly high, as that is what happened with Burmese gemstones—first, they were directly banned, and then that was amended to Burmese rubies cut and polished elsewhere.
