US Bans Imports of Russian Diamonds

RAPAPORT... US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order prohibiting the import of "nonindustrial" diamonds originating in Russia.The measures, which the White House announced on Friday, follow Russia's continued war in Ukraine and build on earlier US sanctions outlawing debt and equity transactions with Alrosa and its CEO, Sergey Ivanov. Those previous rulings did not constitute an outright ban on shipping Russian goods into America.The latest order will affect goods from Russian miner Alrosa, which supplies around 30% of global rough supply by volume. Biden has also prohibited the export of luxury goods from the US to Russia.On the same day, Signet Jewelers - an Alrosa contract client - announced it had "suspended business interaction with Russian-owned entities since the beginning of the invasion." The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has stopped taking submissions of Russian products for its Diamond Origin Report service, and has also paused all transactions with laboratory submissions from sanctioned entities.Meanwhile, Alrosa has delayed publication of its monthly sales data until further notice. The company was unavailable for comment at press time on Sunday.Image: Rough diamonds ready for cutting and polishing. (Alrosa)