EU to move ahead with Russian diamond ban next week

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The EU is ready to maneuver forward with a long-stalled ban on Russian diamonds subsequent week after securing adequate backing from the G7 group of developed nations, in keeping with the bloc’s international coverage chief.

Diamonds are one of many few main Russian exports nonetheless untouched by EU sanctions imposed in response to President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine final yr, as a result of in depth wrangling over how any embargo would work successfully.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, advised the Monetary Occasions {that a} two-day assembly of G7 international ministers in Japan that ended on Wednesday gave help to the transfer, clearing a vital hurdle that European international locations together with Belgium — one of many world’s largest diamond merchants — had demanded.

“To ensure that [EU] member states to be unanimous for the ban on diamond commerce, some had been requesting that the G7 had been giving, let’s say, political protection,” stated Borrell.

“Nicely, this has been performed and the co-ordination has labored and we can put the bundle of sanctions in entrance of [foreign ministers on Monday],” he added.

Ukraine and a number of other central and jap European allies have lengthy demanded that the EU ban commerce within the treasured gemstone, along with sweeping measures banning or decreasing Russian exports comparable to oil, coal, metal and gold.

G7 leaders in Might agreed to limit commerce and use of Russian diamonds, together with by utilizing tracing applied sciences. However efforts to impose authorized EU measures stalled as Belgium argued {that a} easy ban on Russian stones would simply divert buying and selling away from its metropolis of Antwerp, the worldwide diamond hub.

Belgian officers had known as for full G7 help for an association that might implement a worldwide normal to certify tough and polished diamonds which might enable all merchants to establish Russian-produced gems.

Borrell stated the international ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and US this week agreed to “scale back the revenues that Russia extracts from exports”, and explicitly cited “non-industrial diamonds, together with these mined”.

Russia is the world’s largest producer of tough diamonds by quantity, with exports totalling $4bn in 2021, in keeping with commerce statistics. Greater than 80 per cent of world tough diamonds are traded by way of sellers in Antwerp.

The worldwide pure diamond jewelry market is estimated to be value $74bn in 2023, in keeping with impartial analyst Paul Zimnisky.

The EU diamond sanctions shall be a part of the bloc’s 12 rounds of sanctions towards Moscow. Officers have stated the brand new sanctions bundle can even embody new import and export bans, measures to tighten the effectiveness of the prevailing worth cap on Russian crude, and concentrating on of entities in third international locations which can be serving to Russia circumvent commerce restrictions.