US-China trade war could add sparkle to India’s gems and jewellery trade

Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) officials said with China imposing the national security law on Hong Kong, the US has given indication of raising duty on goods from there to 7.5 per cent from 3.3 per cent. Without going into the nuances of the US move, I feel it will possibly create opportunities for India in gems and jewellery trade,” GJEPC Chairman Colin Shah said. For the US, Hong Kong and China are the fourth largest destinations for importing gems and jewellery after India, France and Italy. Hong Kong and China exported gem and jewellery worth $980.85 million and $2622.19 million respectively to the US in 2019.

“The ending of the preferential treaty as per the new order with HK would open new business avenues for India. The manufacturing business has the potential to witness a shift to India from China,” Shah said.

According to GJEPC, India has exported gem and jewellery worth $10.48 billion in 2018-19 and $9.17 billion in 2019-20 to the US, which is 26 per cent of overall gems and jewellery exports from India. Thus US shares a larger pie for the gems and jewellery consumption from India.