【Mumbai, Indi】Zero US Tariff on Diamonds and Gemstones a Major Step Forward: GJC’s Avinash Gupta

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Editor’s Note

This report highlights a key provision in the India-US trade agreement, as noted by industry leaders, which eliminates tariffs on diamonds and gemstones—a move expected to significantly bolster India’s cutting and polishing sector.

Zero US tariff on diamonds and gemstones a major step forward: GJC’s Avinash Gupta
Mumbai:

Avinash Gupta, Vice Chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC), has stated that the India-US trade deal is very positive, and its most significant advantage for the diamond industry is that under Section 3, diamonds and gemstones will now be subject to a zero percent tariff, marking a major step forward.
Speaking to IANS, Gupta said the deal will greatly aid the survival of India’s cutting and polishing industry. Previously, 9 out of 10 diamonds were cut in India, and US tariffs had caused difficulties for many artisans in Surat.

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“This trade agreement is very comprehensive and I believe it will bring major benefits to ‘Make in India’. Along with skill transfer in various industries, India’s recent trade deals, not just with the US but also with the EU, will have a significant impact,”

he mentioned.
He further stated that the zero percent duty in the gems and jewellery industry currently applies only to diamonds and gemstones.

“Jewellery itself is a very large segment, which has not yet been included under the zero percent duty bracket. I would appeal to the government to also include jewellery under Section 3 during future negotiations. If jewellery is brought under this framework, it will bring huge benefits,”

Gupta told IANS.

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As manufacturing hubs continue to develop in India, one can already see the positive impact.

“Earlier, when electronics manufacturing began in India, our country was a net importer but today, it has become an exporter. The same pattern is being seen in the automobile industry and now in the gems and jewellery sector as well,”

said Gupta.
At present, the government has set a very ambitious target: to make India a complete exporter country before 2047 and to establish it as a global production hub for jewellery.

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“This vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I believe, will be achieved by 2047,”

Gupta added.

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⏰ Published on: February 10, 2026