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BRUSSELS/LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) – The Group of Seven (G7) countries is expected to announce an import ban on Russian diamonds in the next 2-3 weeks, Belgian officials told reporters on Friday, in a bid to tighten a squeeze on Russia’s capacity to finance the war in Ukraine.
The plan could transform the global diamond supply chain, but implementation will depend heavily on India, whose diamond industry employs millions of people who cut and polish 90% of the world’s diamonds.
The ban, proposed by Belgium where the city of Antwerp is the world’s No. 1 diamond trading hub, will come into effect on January 1, one of the government officials, who asked not to be named, told reporters in Brussels.
If it goes ahead as anticipated, it would split the global consumer diamond market. The G7, which accounts for 70% of the consumer market, would no longer accept diamonds from Russia, the world’s biggest producer of rough diamonds.
For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/g7-launch-russian-diamond-ban-bid-curb-revenues-belgian-officials-2023-09-15/