Antwerp diamond trade lifts as U.S. tariff exemption returns

Antwerp's diamond traders got relief on July 24 when the United States restored a tariff exemption for polished diamonds, ending months of uncertainty for Belgian exporters. The zero-duty treatment applies to cut and polished natural diamonds of European origin, the exact goods that had faced a 10% duty after the exemption lapsed.

The stakes are unusually high in Antwerp. Belgium exported $2.1 billion worth of polished diamonds to the United States in 2024, and the U.S. accounts for more than 55% of global diamond consumption, so even a short-lived tariff shock can reverberate through pricing sheets, memo terms and delivery schedules across the trade. For a market built on fast turnover and thin spreads, the return of tariff-free access matters as much for timing as for cost.

The Antwerp World Diamond Centre said it secured the zero percent import duty after intensive consultation and lobbying. The exemption was made retroactively effective from September 1, 2025, and it returned after roughly six months in which European polished diamonds were again exposed to U.S. import tariffs. That rollback removes the added friction from a trade lane that runs through one of the world’s most important diamond hubs.

The first beneficiaries are likely to be loose polished natural diamonds already moving through Antwerp toward U.S. buyers, especially stones that had been priced with the 10% duty embedded. That includes the goods most likely to be repriced quickly for the next selling cycle, from single stones to parcel sales, because the tariff had been baked into offers, invoices and retailer commitments. With the duty gone, the pressure eases first on the polished goods that actually feed the American market, rather than on broader sentiment.

The policy shift also follows Donald Trump’s Sept. 5, 2025 order offering tariff exemptions to countries with U.S. trade deals, the framework that eventually allowed the diamond carve-out to return. The broader sector was already under strain from weaker luxury demand and strong competition, so Antwerp’s restored access now acts as both a cost reset and a signal that one of the industry’s most important pipelines can move again with less uncertainty.