The USA partially lifted sanctions against the Russian Federation on the import of diamonds
The USA has lifted some of the sanctions against Russia regarding the import of diamonds. This is stated in a general license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury.
The document temporarily allows the “import of certain diamonds”, which was previously prohibited by a decree of February 2024.
“These transactions are permitted until 00:01 EST on September 1, 2026, provided that the diamonds were physically located outside the Russian Federation before, and were not exported or re-exported from, the Russian Federation after March 1, 2024 — for non-industrial diamonds weighing 1.0 carats or more; or on September 1, 2024 — for non-industrial diamonds weighing 0.5 carats or more,” says the license.
At the same time, the import and customs clearance of non-industrial diamonds of Russian origin on the territory of the United States, including the import into foreign trade zones, will continue to be prohibited.
We would like to remind you that in 2024, the USA already partially relaxed restrictions on Russian diamonds and allowed the import of certain categories of precious stones and jewelry with them until September 2025. This was established in General Licenses No. 130 and No. 104 dated August 23, 2024, published on the OFAC website of the US Department of the Treasury.
According to license No. 103, the US was allowed to import diamonds and diamond jewelry “which were physically located outside the Russian Federation until March 1, 2024, and were not exported or re-exported from the Russian Federation”.
