Business
Indian Gems, Jewellery Exporters Eye Overseas Units To Dodge US Tariffs
New Delhi: Indian diamond and jewellery exporters are looking to set up production units in friendly countries to avoid the impact of US tariffs and maintain competitiveness in the American market, according to industry insiders.
However, despite the anticipation of industry insiders, no significant player has officially announced such a move so far.
The US currently has a 50 per cent tariff on Indian diamonds and gems, which took effect on August 27, 2025.
“Our American market is like a major market, and that is a major segment of our exports. But naturally, to circumvent that, people are finding out ways where they can have a partial making in India and then try to finish the product somewhere else. So that technically it is not from India and it’s not subject to heavy tariffs,” said Hetal Vakil Valia, former National Chairperson of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) women’s wing. She said this on the sidelines of the 13th Edition of the Delhi Jewellery & Gem Fair 2025 in the national capital on Sunday.
Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, Informa Markets, said industry players are trying to look at different markets to export, like Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
“Industry is also trying to understand that there’s risk at this moment,, so they are trying to look at different markets to export, especially markets like Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. They’re trying to reroute the jewellery by semi-processing and then going to countries like Oman, where they can process it fully and then export to the US,” Mudras told ANI.
On the need to diversify trade, Prasoon Dewan, Scientific Gemologist and CEO of Divish Aurum Private Limited, which exports to markets in Europe and other geographies, said, “Policy shifts create tensions; tariff risks are always an integral part of any export business. This should never be seen as the end of the road. I think it is wiser for every business house to have multiple and alternative market avenues into different markets.”
Encouraging businesses to think beyond traditional markets, Dewan added, “It’s important for the new Bharat to step out of its comfort zone and explore emerging markets. Latin American countries, for instance, may offer a warm entry for our goods, alongside untapped potential in Eastern Europe.”
He concluded by urging a balanced and inclusive global trade outlook: “Every market should be treated equally. We must venture into all potential regions with a fair and open trade approach.
According to Crisil Intelligence, Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in sectors such as textiles, diamonds and chemicals, which together account for nearly 45 per cent of India’s total exports, are likely to be the most affected by the imposition of higher tariffs by the US.
In the gems and jewellery sector, Surat’s diamond polishers, who dominate the country’s exports with over 80 per cent share, will also be severely affected. Diamonds form over half of India’s total gems and jewellery exports, with the US being a major consumer, accounting for nearly a third of shipments.
Food delivery giant Just Eat, funeral firm Dignity and motor platform Autotrader are among five firms under investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog as part of its crackdown on fake and misleading online reviews.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had launched probes against the companies – also including customer review and feedback firm Feefo and Pasta Evangelists – to see whether consumer laws have been broken.
Since April last year, companies have been banned from certain tactics around online reviews under law, such as fake posts, paid-for reviews that are not clearly marked as incentivised, as well as for hiding negative feedback.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Fake reviews strike at the heart of consumer trust – with many of us worrying about misleading content when looking at reviews online.
“With household budgets under pressure, people need to know they’re getting genuine information – not reviews or star ratings that have been manipulated to push them towards the wrong choice.
“We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on.”
The CMA said it was looking into whether Just Eat’s ratings system had inflated some restaurant and grocer star ratings, giving a misleading picture of quality.
For Autotrader and Feefo, the CMA is investigating whether a number of one-star reviews – moderated by Feefo, which handles reviews for the new and used car site – were hidden on the platform and did not count towards the star ratings.
Dignity is under investigation by the CMA into whether it asked staff to write positive reviews about the firm’s crematoria services.
And artisan fresh pasta chain Pasta Evangelists is being probed over allegations it offered customers discounts for leaving five-star reviews on delivery apps without this being disclosed.
If the CMA finds the firms have broken the law, it can order them to change their practices and fine them up to 10% of their annual global sales.
An Autotrader spokesperson said: “We endeavour always to operate as a responsible and compliant business and will co-operate fully with the CMA’s investigation.”
It comes after the CMA recently secured commitments from Google and Amazon to beef up their systems to identify and remove fake reviews.
Amazon last June agreed to put in place “robust processes” to quickly detect and remove fake reviews alongside sanctions for rogue sellers and businesses after an investigation by the CMA to curb the customer hazard.
The tech giant said it would sanction businesses that boost their star ratings via bogus reviews or catalogue abuse, including bans from selling on the website, while users could also be banned for posting fake reviews.
Consumer group Which? welcomed the investigations and said the CMA must “get tough” on firms found to be breaking the law with reviews.
Sue Davies, head of consumer rights policy at Which?, said: “Investigations are a welcome first step, but enforcement will be key – the regulator must be prepared to get tough, use its powers and issue serious fines if these companies aren’t playing by the rules.”
The CMA said it swept more than 100 review publishers as part of the clampdown and sent advisory letters to 54 firms to improve their compliance with the law, with 90% having made changes in response and 75% telling the watchdog they better understood the rules.
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