Policies & IssuesJul 22, 2026
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New Trump Tariffs: What They Mean for Jewelry
The new sweeping slate of tariffs impacts 60 countries, including India, China, Thailand, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.
The U.S. Trade Representative announced a new sweeping slate of tariffs on 60 countries Thursday night with rates ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent. Key exemptions for the jewelry industry include precious metals as well as diamonds imported from the European Union.
Washington, D.C.—A new set of tariffs went into effect at midnight today on imports from 60 countries the Trump administration said did not do enough to curb the presence of “forced labor” in their supply chains.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the new tariffs Thursday night, just as the temporary 10 percent across-the-board tariffs imposed in February were set to expire.
According to a trade alert from the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, rates range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and exclude precious metals (in raw or semi-manufactured form) and, for some countries, loose natural diamonds and colored gemstones, and natural pearls.
Lab-grown diamonds are not on the exemption list.
Countries whose imports will be taxed at 10 percent include the following: Canada (excluding goods that are duty-free under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA), India, Mexico (excluding USMCA goods), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
While diamonds technically are exempt from the 10 percent tariff under USMCA, President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that beginning in mid-August, a wide range of Canadian imports, including loose polished diamonds, will be hit with a 50 percent tariff because of what he views as the country’s unfair trade practices.
Goods from the European Union and Taiwan will be taxed at a minimum of 10 percent; the import tax on products with an existing most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff will be higher, with the new 10 percent tariff stacking on top of the MFN tariff.
According to JVC, countries whose imports will taxed at 12.5 percent include the following: Angola, Australia, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Goods from Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea will be taxed at a minimum of 12.5 percent; the import tax on products with a most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff will be higher, with the new 12.5 percent tariff stacking on top of the existing MFN tariff.
Brazil is also on the 12.5 percent tariff list, which will be added onto the 25 percent tariff announced earlier this week, for a total rate of 37.5 percent.
Rough gemstones imported from Brazil are exempt.
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the new tariffs Thursday night, just as the temporary 10 percent across-the-board tariffs imposed in February were set to expire.
According to a trade alert from the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, rates range from 10 percent to 12.5 percent and exclude precious metals (in raw or semi-manufactured form) and, for some countries, loose natural diamonds and colored gemstones, and natural pearls.
Lab-grown diamonds are not on the exemption list.
Countries whose imports will be taxed at 10 percent include the following: Canada (excluding goods that are duty-free under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA), India, Mexico (excluding USMCA goods), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
While diamonds technically are exempt from the 10 percent tariff under USMCA, President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that beginning in mid-August, a wide range of Canadian imports, including loose polished diamonds, will be hit with a 50 percent tariff because of what he views as the country’s unfair trade practices.
Goods from the European Union and Taiwan will be taxed at a minimum of 10 percent; the import tax on products with an existing most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff will be higher, with the new 10 percent tariff stacking on top of the MFN tariff.
According to JVC, countries whose imports will taxed at 12.5 percent include the following: Angola, Australia, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Israel, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
Goods from Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea will be taxed at a minimum of 12.5 percent; the import tax on products with a most-favored-nation (MFN) tariff will be higher, with the new 12.5 percent tariff stacking on top of the existing MFN tariff.
Brazil is also on the 12.5 percent tariff list, which will be added onto the 25 percent tariff announced earlier this week, for a total rate of 37.5 percent.
Rough gemstones imported from Brazil are exempt.
Under the new tariff structure, rough diamonds and loose polished diamonds imported from the European Union are exempt, as are rough and polished loose colored gemstones and natural pearls that are either loose or “temporarily strung for convenience of transport.”
In a statement circulated Friday, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre called the exemption “significant news” for the city.
AWDC and the European Commission successfully lobbied for an exemption for diamonds last fall, but that exemption was undone in February when the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s IEEPA tariffs were illegal and the administration responded by enacting new tariffs.
“The restored zero percent exemption once again makes it more attractive to have natural diamonds cut in Europe,” AWDC CEO Karen Rentmeesters said in a press release.
“Antwerp has a unique combination of specialized know-how, high-tech cutting capacity, and access to an international network of diamond companies.”
In addition to the EU, the countries granted an exemption for loose natural diamonds, gemstones, and pearls are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Switzerland, and Taiwan.
There is also a long list of exemptions for silver, gold, platinum, and palladium imported from all 60 countries.
A full list of exempt products organized by their 10-digit HTS numbers is available here.
The new tariffs are the result of USTR’s investigation into “forced labor” practices in 60 countries that began immediately after the Supreme Court shot down the IEEPA tariffs.
This new round of tariffs is being enacted under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
As JVC noted in its alert, the expiration of the temporary 10 percent tariffs means that the rate falls to zero percent for countries not involved in the forced labor investigation.
They include the following: Afghanistan, Botswana, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
USTR is conducting another section 301 investigation into alleged “overproduction” of certain goods that could result in additional tariffs on 16 countries, including India, China, Thailand, the EU, and Switzerland.
For the latest tariff rates, visit JVC’s Tariff Tracker.
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