The G7 countries are going to impose sanctions on Alrosa diamonds at a meeting on May 19-21 in Japan.
Source. This is reported by moscowtimes.eu with reference to the Indian edition of the Economic Times.
According to Vipul Shah, chairman of the Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), diamonds weighing 1 carat will be subject to restrictions.
"We have heard from various sources that there will be new sanctions, and they will start with large diamonds," he said.
India polishes about 90% of the world's diamonds, including Russian ones. If sanctions are imposed, there will be uncertainty about the employment of nearly three million workers in Surat, the country's diamond center. Industry executives are in talks with G7 representatives and are asking them to reconsider the decision in light of the situation, one of the participants said.
India can freely export Russian diamonds to the US and G7 countries if they undergo substantial processing in the country. The system code of the stone, a six-digit number used to identify goods in cross-border trade, is also being changed.
Russia's Alrosa, which accounts for about 30% of the world's diamond production, has been sanctioned by the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia. The EU excluded the company from the next package of restrictions in October after Belgium protested that it feared losing "thousands of jobs" as a result of "a blow to the Russian diamond sector."
Antwerp, Belgium, is home to one of the world's largest diamond trading centers. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Kroo noted that the sanctions would only lead to the fact that exports from Russia would be redirected through other countries.
To impose restrictions on Russia, representatives of the G7 and the EU are discussing the creation of a global diamond tracking system.
Last March, the United States banned the import of diamonds from Russia, and a year ago, Alrosa was included in the sanctions list.
As a result, a number of foreign jewelry companies, such as the American Tiffany & Co and Signet Jewelers Ltd, have refused to buy Russian stones. At the same time, the supply of diamonds to India has increased.
Background. Meanwhile, according to media reports, Russia is strengthening its influence in Africa in order to open a second front against the West.