LONDON, May 5. /TASS/. Chief executive of the world’s biggest diamond miner De Beers Al Cook believes that the American administration’s tariffs on precious stones are of "no benefit" to the US itself, Financial Times wrote.
Tariffs are of "no benefit" to the US and "would purely be a consumption tax on the American consumer," he told the newspaper.
The US is the world’s largest market for diamond jewelry, accounting for about half of global demand, but has no domestic mining or known commercial deposits of the stones, the publication said. There are "no US diamond mining jobs to protect," Cook said, adding that "there would be no jobs created."
The tariffs announced last month by US President Donald Trump have thrown the diamond industry into turmoil and briefly brought trade in the gems to a "standstill", the paper said citing market participants. The World Diamond Council, a lobby group that represents the industry, has warned that if the US did not remove tariffs on the stones, "tariffs on diamonds would function as a consumption tax, raising prices on engagement rings, anniversary gifts, and other jewelry."
Diamonds entering the US are subject to the 10 per cent tariff on all imported goods, and face a variable country-based levy that has been suspended for 90 days.