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Trade
News article7 March 2023BrusselsDirectorate-General for Trade

EU and US engage with diamond industry to find ways to disrupt Russian diamond revenues

The purpose of the meeting was to find the most effective and impactful ways to disrupt Russia’s revenue stream from the diamond trade.

On 6 March 2023, European Commission Deputy Director-General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (CTEO) Denis Redonnet and US Sanctions Coordinator James O’Brien met the US and European offices of leading diamond retailers, manufacturers, laboratories, and industry trade associations.

The purpose of the meeting was to find the most effective and impactful ways to disrupt Russia’s revenue stream from the diamond trade. The EU and the US remain committed to imposing economic consequences on Russia for its unprovoked war in Ukraine. This includes reducing Russia’s involvement in the global diamond trade, which still helps Russia earn billions of dollars today.

CTEO Redonnet and Ambassador O’Brien stressed the critical importance of the diamond industry’s engagement on future Russia-related import measures, including on polished diamonds, as noted in the recent G7 Leaders’ Statement. This includes measures aimed at cutting off access to G7 and EU member-state retail markets for all (non-industrial) diamonds mined in Russia.

Details

Publication date
7 March 2023
Author
Directorate-General for Trade
Location
Brussels
Country or region
RussiaUkraine
Trade topics
Importing into the EUTrade policy