US tariffs impact: End customers in the United States will end up paying higher for diamonds once the stocks run out, Steven Grauer, chairman and security director for the Diamond District Partnership in New York City, told the NY Times.
The report, noted that for years India has been amongst the biggest diamond suppliers to the US — while imports on the precious gem were 0 per cent. Since US President Donald Trump announced the first 25 per cent tariff strike, import of Indian diamonds into the US has already fallen 90 per cent from $579 million in January 2025, to $58 million in June 2025. Now, with the tariffs doubling to 50 per cent from August 27, the situation seems dire.
For now, the prices for US customer will likely stay steady — till stocks last. Once the pre-tariff diamonds run out, the expenses are likely to be passed on to the purchasers, the report added.
Notably, the US coffers themselves have done well, NYT data showed. After the tariffs were announced, the US government collected $5.8 million in duties in June 2025, well above the nil earnings in January 2025.
Trump tariffs impact: Who will pay the price?
Speaking to NYT, Grauer noted that the tariffs will disrupt trade and lead to increase in retail price of diamonds and diamond products such as necklaces and rings in the US.
“I have colleagues who had stuff coming in and missed the boat, and I mean literally the boat by a day, and got these huge tariffs because they were put into effect,” Grauer shared. He added that while prices are “relatively stable” now, it is because merchants purchased extra gems before the first tariffs came into effect in April.
“At some point, however, that stock will run out, and the cost of tariffs will likely be passed on to the consumer. I think you will see an uptick, because obviously someone’s got to pay the duty, and the end consumer at the end of the day is the one who ends up paying it, because if I pay it, I have to pass it along,” he added.
‘FTAs with UK, UAE, Australia to help find new markets’
Speaking to ANI on August 27, as hiked duties on Indian imports into the US come into effect, Dinesh Navadiya, Chairman of the Indian Diamond Institute noted that the gems and jewellery sector has imports worth $13.3 billion dollars, with direct export to US worth $4.8 billion dollars (in FY24).
But Navadiya had some optimism, “India’s diamond industry is only labour-intensive; it is expected to face difficulties. India’s FTAs with the UK, UAE and Australia will help us find new markets. China and Russia have said that they will open their markets to India, which might prove to be a positive for us…”
