Call To End U.S. Antitrust Charges Against De Beers

After being barred from the U.S. for more than 50 years, De Beers might be allowed back with the support of two U.S. legislators. Congressmen Hall and Wolf say that the U.S. government should stop antitrust charges against the company if this would help end the trade in Blood Diamonds fuelling civil wars in Africa.

It's not that De Beers is not able to sell diamonds in the U.S. It does so through American sightholders. But Gary Ralfe has said peace with the US justice department is "highly desirable". Pending retail initiatives with LVMH are also a consideration.

Congressmen Tony Hall and Frank Wolf, who initiated the Clean Diamond Trade Act passed in November by the House of Representatives, said this week "pursuing court action seems in diametric opposition to diplomatic work on conflict diamonds, because De Beers plays an enormous role in the diamond trade".

However Rory O'Ferral, De Beers' director of corporate affairs, told Business Day the company saw no link between getting its U.S. legal problems resolved and working to stamp out conflict diamonds. "The two things are totally separate," he said.

Some of the antitrust charges date back to World War 2. De Beers allegedly tried to corner the market in industrial diamonds. Another charge was leveled against De Beers and General Electric In 1994 when the U.S. Justice Department indicted them on alleged price fixing on industrial diamonds. The charges against GE were dismissed, but against De Beers the charges still stand since the company declined to stand trial.