Editor’s Note
This article highlights a strategic workaround employed by Indian jewelry exporters to navigate U.S. tariffs, leveraging a specific provision for goods manufactured from American raw materials. It underscores how global trade rules can create unexpected loopholes and adaptive business responses.
New Delhi.
The United States has imposed a 50% tariff on India. However, Indian jewelry companies are cleverly finding a way around Trump’s tariff. According to US tariff rules, if raw material goes from the US to India and then returns to the US as a finished product, no tariff will be levied on it. Indian jewelry companies are taking advantage of this very rule. One such Indian company benefiting from this rule is Goldiam International Ltd. This company manufactures and exports diamond-studded gold, silver, and platinum jewelry.
Established in 1986, Goldiam has earned a global reputation by serving major international retailers in the US, Europe, and other markets. Its products are very popular in the US. The company stated that Goldiam International Ltd, a global exporter of diamond jewelry, has announced the successful implementation of an active manufacturing strategy that protects its exports from the recently imposed 50% US tariff on Indian jewelry imports.
Goldiam International Ltd explained that it molds raw gold into unfinished jewelry in the United States through its American subsidiary.
The company stated that since the gold is purchased and molded in the US, the product retains its US-origin status. Consequently, no duty is levied on the gold component; instead, a 5.5% duty is applied on the incremental value addition (diamonds and labor). This allows Goldiam to protect its margin profile, maintain volume, and retain a clear cost advantage compared to smaller and less organized competitors.
