New Russia sanctions that the Group of Seven (G7) are currently considering include restrictive measures against the diamond business. According to a media report, this could jeopardize hundreds of thousands of jobs in India.
Possible tough measures by G7 member states against Russia, which could also affect the diamond trade, put hundreds of thousands of jobs in India at risk – from the diamond dealers in Mumbai who sell gemstones worldwide to small traders, the reported Financial Times. They are concerned that “a sustained, unwieldy effort” to deprive Russia of diamond mining revenue would threaten their existence. The newspaper quotes Anoop Mehta, President of the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB) in Mumbai, as saying:
“Russian diamonds ensure that 60 percent of the jobs in Indian industry are guaranteed.”
According to Mehta’s estimates, one million people are employed in India’s entire diamond trade. Referring to Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the military operation in Ukraine, diamond industry petty trader Ramesh Savaliya said it was a “two-country problem”. And further:
“The whole world shouldn’t care.”
Media report: USA, EU and other allies of Ukraine are planning new sanctions against Russia
The US, the European Union (EU) and other key Ukraine allies are preparing new sanctions against Russia, the report said Bloomberg last Wednesday, citing its sources. The G7 plans to announce their plans at the forthcoming summit in Japan at the end of May. The core idea is to prevent Moscow from being able to circumvent the existing punitive measures, with a focus on hundreds of goods and technologies that would serve military purposes. G7 member states are also expected to make progress on a mechanism to track diamonds from Russia across borders, which could eventually lead to restrictions on this trade. Currently, India is free to export rough diamonds from Russia to the US and other G7 countries if they are refined in the country. However, this could change due to Western plans to follow up.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that Russia will withstand the pressure of sanctions. Russian leaders noted that the West lacked the courage to acknowledge the failure of the punitive measures. In the western countries themselves, voices were raised that restrictions were ineffective.
more on the subject – What the ten EU sanctions packages against Russia include – an overview
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