The US State Department may enforce a US jewellery import policy which will require origin declaration of imported jewellery into the US.
The possible regulation will ask a declaration of origin for every piece of finished jewellery or its components including precious metals, diamonds and all coloured gemstones. This means that jewellery merchants would have to state the provenance of every single jewellery item imported overseas into the US.
The proposed requirements would monitor imports of gemstones and precious metals which are used to fund “maligned regimes” worldwide. Jewellery has now been flagged as “high priority” for monitoring due to its close ties with money laundering and terrorism.
The State Department wants to “enhance” the Kimberley Process, which aims to ensure that diamond purchases are not financing violence, because they view it as “inadequate,” particularly in light of the fact the Kimberly Process has not voted to broaden the definition of a “conflict” or “blood” diamond to include human rights abuses by governments and security firms.
While the regulations would have a significant impact on the jewellery industry in the US, which sources the vast majority of its materials from overseas – there are few details available at this point – including when—or even if—the regulations will go into effect, what they will entail for jewellery importers and how they will be enforced and this would impact marketplace sellers.
4 Responses
What about bog standard jewellery that does not include “precious metals, diamonds and all coloured gemstones” (e.g. stainless steel and alloys)?
Somehow were not that alarmed
In fact were utterly unimpressed with the red top journalistic style sensationalism
The United States (U.S.), marking statute, Section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304) requires that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked with its country of origin.