New import requirements caught the US industry off guard, David Bonaparte, president and CEO of Jewelers of America (JA), tells the Rapaport Diamond Podcast.
In the latest episode, Bonaparte reflected on rules Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced requiring diamond importers to specify the country of mining.
He noted a lack of warning and detail and said the industry had a lot of questions about the new instructions. CBP has clarified some issues since the February 4 recording of the episode.
“This was [a] big surprise for those manufacturers and importers [and] exporters into the US, because there was no discussion. There was no warning,” he said in conversation with Rapaport’s Joshua Freedman.
Bonaparte also criticized the Group of Seven (G7) technical committee that coordinates sanctions on Russian diamonds, claiming it lacked industry expertise and had failed to consult and communicate with the US trade. (The European Union-based heads of this team had not responded to a request for comment at press time.)
The executive outlined the activism that the Jewelers of America Political Action Committee (JAPAC) had conducted on sanctions and crime, arguing that some local policies were enabling thieves to walk free and reoffend. He also spoke about a relief fund JA and the Diamond Council of America (DCA) had set up to help businesses that suffered damage in the recent Los Angeles wildfires.
On President Donald Trump’s tariff plans, Bonaparte said JA would recommend no additional levies on goods entering or leaving the US and hoped that this would be the reality. “My view is that the administration is using tariffs as a tool to negotiate a lot of different issues that are important to this administration, and [they are] not necessarily intended to stifle business,” he said.
Bonaparte also recalled his time at Reed Exhibitions, where he led the global trade-fair organizer’s jewelry portfolio, including the JCK Las Vegas show.
Listen to the episode here:
