Relief in Antwerp: No EU Tariffs on Diamonds from US
April 09, 25
(IDEX Online) - The 27 nations of the European Union today (9 April) approved a raft of new, retaliatory tariffs on US imports, including motorcycles, poultry, fruit, wood, clothing, dental floss, peanut butter and hairspray - but not polished diamonds.
Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) said it was relieved and satisfied.
"European import tariffs could have caused significant harm to Belgium's diamond industry, without meaningfully impacting the US in return," it said in a statement.
The European Council - the EU body responsible for politics - announced the tariffs in response to 25 per cent tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars brought in by the US last month, as well as the widely-publicized reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump last week.
"We are extremely pleased and grateful that our efforts over the past weeks have led to the European Council's decision not to impose tariffs on US diamonds," said Karen Rentmeesters, (pictured) CEO of AWDC.
"From both a political and economic standpoint, the impact on the US would have been negligible, whereas the impact on our sector here would have been significant."
She said diamonds were routinely shipped back and forth between the US and Belgium, and would have been subject to tariffs entering both countries.
The US accounts for 16 per cent of Belgium's total diamond trade, worth $3.9bn annually.