On January 8, 2021, the Department of State published in the Federal Register a notice [Public Notice 11297] updating the list of Participants eligible for trade in rough diamonds under the Clean Diamond Trade Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-19; the “Act”) and Section 2 of Executive Order 13312 of July 29, 2003, and their respective Importing and Exporting Authorities, revising the previously published list of July 5, 2019, to reflect the addition of the United Kingdom as an independent Participant, among other changes.
Section 4 of the Act requires the President to prohibit the importation into, or the exportation from, the United States of any rough diamond, from whatever source, that has not been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). Under Section 3(2) of the Act, “controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme” means an importation from the territory of a Participant or exportation to the territory of a Participant of rough diamonds that is either (i) carried out in accordance with the KPCS, as set forth in regulations promulgated by the President, or (ii) controlled under a system determined by the President to meet substantially the standards, practices, and procedures of the KPCS. The referenced regulations are contained at 31 CFR Part 592 (“Rough Diamond Control Regulations”) (68 FR 45777, August 4, 2003).
