A discussion took place at the RA Ministry of Economy with the representatives of the diamond and jewelry industry of Armenia.

The main purpose of the meeting was to discuss the draft decision of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, according to which it is envisaged to nullify for a period of 2 years the rate of the customs duty on a number of colored precious and semi-precious stones (with regard to raw materials and ready stones), as well as separate the EEU FEZ AA code of diamonds with the high mass of up to 0.3 carats and starting from 0.3 carats.

During the meeting, the issue of expedience of applying 0% rate of the customs duty for diamonds with the high mass of up to 0.3 carats for a period of one year was discussed, which was approved by representatives of the jewelry industry, but a number of diamond processing companies opposed the proposal.

While welcoming the participants of the meeting, the RA Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan noted that it is necessary to find a solution that will be the most beneficial for both industries.

Vahan Kerobyan assured that all proposals and views presented during the meeting will be taken into consideration and the current situation will be studied and analyzed in order to build the final stance on the issue.

Summing up the discussion, the Minister noted that it is necessary to create complete value chains, starting with extracting ore from mines and processing and up to finished jewelry products, and be represented in the world market with the Armenian brand. In addition, he also mentioned that only by uniting the efforts of the industry’s private companies and the state it will be possible to find solutions needed for development of the industry.