Editor’s Note
The U.S. Treasury has issued a temporary license authorizing imports of Russian industrial diamonds, lifting restrictions imposed earlier this year. This article details the policy shift and its immediate implications.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a general license on Aug. 27, temporarily authorizing imports of industrial diamonds from Russia. This move lifts restrictions that were imposed in February 2024.
Under the license, imports that had been banned are permitted until Sept. 1, 2026. This authorization is provided that the diamonds were physically outside Russia before specified cutoff dates and were not exported or re-exported from Russia after those dates:
– March 1, 2024, for non-industrial diamonds weighing 1 carat or more.
– Sept. 1, 2024, for non-industrial diamonds weighing 0.5 carat or more.
Despite the temporary relief, imports of non-industrial diamonds of Russian origin into the United States remain prohibited.
Earlier this month, U.S. officials also temporarily lifted sanctions that had blocked financial transactions with Russia needed to organize the Aug. 15 Alaska summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.