The European Union’s new sanctions regime is resulting in diamonds being stuck at customs for more than a week and disrupting supply chains, Antwerp dealers have claimed.
The ban on Russian diamonds, which went into effect on March 1, requires all goods entering the EU to go for inspection at Antwerp’s Diamond Office, a dedicated customs center for the industry.
On Wednesday, 146 companies signed a letter of complaint to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), which operates the Diamond Office in collaboration with the government. The letter said they supported the sanctions in principle, but the implementation had adversely affected traders’ business in the Belgian city, slowing down shipments and adding costs.
“The intention [of the rules] was to prevent the flow of diamonds from sanctioned states, but the reality we face is the severe disruption of our supply chains, and alienation from the rest of the global trade,” according to the letter, seen by Rapaport News. “This is resulting in [a] significant increase in expenses and irreplaceable loss of business. We are failing to meet our customer orders and having to fund excess blocked inventory, and are being demanded paperwork that was not asked for preemptively.”
The trade had received assurances that shipments would be cleared in under 24 hours, the letter noted. However, “even straightforward cases are held up for over a week,” it continued.
Examples of blocked goods include rough coming straight from African producer nations, polished from beneficiation factories, and merchandise returning to Antwerp from trade fairs outside the EU, the letter said.
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