with an additional tariff of 25% coming into effect from August 27, taking the total to 50%.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nThe hike, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, has raised concerns among exporters who warn the rates are \u201cunsustainable\u201d for long-term trade, and are optimistic about the business. It comes at a time when industry is still struggling with the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the growing presence of cheaper lab-grown diamonds in global markets.<\/p>\n
![\"\"]()
<\/p>\n
Despite the grim statistics, some leaders are urging calm. \u201cThis is a temporary phase. The U.S. has no best viable alternative to India for loose and jewellery diamonds,\u201d said Jagdish Khunt, president of the Surat Diamond Association. \u201cYes, tariffs are a blow, but it will eventually push prices up in the U.S., and buyers there will have to absorb the difference because sourcing from India remains unavoidable,\u201d he told The Hindu.<\/p>\n
Industry estimates show that the U.S. alone accounts for more than 30% of India\u2019s gem and jewellery exports, making it the single-largest overseas buyer. In Gujarat, where nearly 90% of natural diamonds imported to India are cut and polished, trade bodies say more than one lakh workers have lost jobs since April this year.<\/p>\n
In May, the Gujarat government rolled out a relief scheme aimed at helping diamond artisans and small units hit by a global slowdown. More than one lakh former workers from the sector have sought assistance under the programme, which offers \u20b913,500 per child to support affected families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly 90% of India\u2019s supply is processed here. What other alternatives do they have? We have the best \u2018ratnakalakars\u2019 (diamond artisans) in the world, and a customer buying diamonds will never compromise on quality,\u201d asks Mr. Khunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He compared the American affinity for diamonds to the Indian love for gold, noting that just as Indians continue to purchase gold despite soaring prices, U.S. consumers remain steadfast in their preference for diamonds. \u201cNo matter the circumstances, they pick diamonds over gold. We expect the market to steady ahead of Christmas and New Year, with fresh orders starting to flow in,\u201d he said, adding that over 7.5 lakh artisans are working in 3,500 small and large units.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Data from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), India\u2019s apex body for the industry, shows that in the 2024\u201325 fiscal year, India shipped cut and polished diamonds worth $4.8 billion to the United States. The U.S. market thus accounted for over one-third of the country\u2019s total diamond exports, which amounted to $13.2 billion for the year. According to GJEPC, India\u2019s rough diamond imports fell sharply in 2024\u201325 to $9.52 billion, down from $14.26 billion in the previous fiscal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Babu Vaghani, president of the Lab-Grown Diamonds Association, shared Mr. Khunt\u2019s optimism, describing the current situation as a \u201cshort-term crisis.\u201d \u201cWhatever the challenges, we must keep going until Diwali. Even if it means trading on smaller margins, the work has to continue for the sake of the lakhs of people who depend on it for their livelihood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Vaghani pointed out that more than half of the artisans outside Surat,\u00a0particularly in Bhavnagar, Botad, Mehsana, and other districts, are women. \u201cIn rural areas, women play a major role in diamond polishing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Published – August 15, 2025 08:04 am IST<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A worker in one of the oldest and largest diamond polishing units of Surat checking its dazzle. File…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[122661,122660,49,978,122662,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-345583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-diamond-sector-in-gujarat","9":"tag-gujarat-diamon-sector","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-us-diamond-exports","13":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115030780173436387","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1752989830_108_1x1_spacer.png\" "\\"A"){kind=spacer}
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/av74o9\/article69408320.ece\/alternates\/SQUARE_80\/2025-03-20T115948Z_756916634_RC2XGDARLB4K_RTRMADP_3_PRECIOUS-GOLD-JEWELLERY.JPG\")
<\/p>\n