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DMIA asks DTC, Congress to help U.S. diamantaires

November 13, 2007

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New York—The Diamond Manufacturers and Importers Association of America (DMIA) today announced details of a campaign designed to leverage U.S. foreign aid to the benefit of American diamond manufacturers.

As the first step in the campaign, DMIA President Ronald J. Friedman—mindful that the latest Diamond Trading Co. (DTC) Supplier of Choice review and sightholder selection process is coming to an end—sent a letter to DTC Managing Director Varda Shine, expressing the concerns of the American diamond industry.

The letter states, in part, "The DMIA acknowledges the merits and necessity of beneficiation, and we support the DTC's role in this initiative, as well as your support of black empowerment, and all the social and environmental issues that you have undertaken recently in your drive for corporate responsibility.

"However, there must be a balance so that the positive results of beneficiation do not come at the expense of rough-diamond allocations to American sightholders, as well as secondary-market distribution to domestic non-sightholder manufacturers.

"The merits of having American sightholders and an active diamond-cutting base in the United States are many...All of the strengths of the American diamantaire are important to the image of the diamond industry and the Diamond Trading Company. Continued rough supply to American manufacturers is crucial in supporting the win/win solution for the entire diamond and diamond jewelry industry."

Beyond the letter, the association is reaching out to members of Congress, domestic politicians and government agencies, pointing toward the amount of aid the United States supplies to many of the world's top diamond-producing countries.

According to information provided by the DMIA, the United States supplied about $326 million in aid to Botswana, Namibia and South Africa alone in 2006.

"The cost of this support is born by the American taxpayer, including those who work in the diamond industry," the letter states. "It would be an unacceptable contradiction for those who support beneficiation in the African continent to suffer the consequence of having rough diamonds taken away from American manufacturers, the ensuing loss of jobs and the loss of tax revenue. This support should not and cannot be unconditional in the adoption of policies by these countries that have the effect of damaging employment and the welfare of industry within the Unites States of America."

Copied on the DMIA's letter were a number of key government officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, considered by many to be a front-runner to win the Democratic nomination for the 2008 presidential race.
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Elections and Voting | Politics | U.S. Politics | U.S. Presidential Election

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