Justicia Shipena
Debmarine Namibia plans to request a blanket exemption from the US government on rough and polished diamonds.
CEO Willy Mertens said the US does not produce diamonds and should not impose punitive tariffs on the industry.
“We are going to try and seek a blanket exemption from the US government on both rough and polished diamonds,” he said.
He was speaking on Wednesday at the 2025 Mining Expo and Conference in Windhoek. The event, which runs until today, features 198 exhibitors and 335 booths,the largest in its 12-year history.
The conference is held under the theme, “Mining for Namibia’s Future: Job Creation, Local Empowerment, and Economic Transformation.”
Mertens said the 15% tariff on polished diamonds entering the US is making Namibian diamonds more expensive globally.
He noted that diamonds exported as rough and processed in other countries face even higher charges.
“For a Namibian diamond processed and cut and polished in Namibia, that’s going to be 15% more expensive. For a Namibian diamond that goes out as rough into India, it’s going to be 25% more expensive,” he said.
He described the tariffs as a source of instability.
“The uncertainty surrounding tariffs is creating instability. Now you don’t know, am I going to pay 15% extra? Or I’m going to pay 30% extra, or is it going to be 20%?” Mertens explained.
This follows an executive order by former US President Donald Trump titled “Further Modifying the Reciprocal Tariff Rates.”
The order reduced tariffs on goods from several African countries, including Namibia, from 21% to 15%.
In June, deputy minister of industrialisation and trade Gaudentia Kröhne warned that the tariff reduction could hurt trade momentum and threaten economic opportunities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
By mid-2023, Debmarine’s contributions to the state dropped from nearly N$6 billion to just over N$2 billion.
The decline was linked to falling global diamond prices and competition from lab-grown diamonds.
In April, Simonis Storm economists said the tariffs were part of a broader protectionist trend that could trigger inflation in Namibia.
They warned that tariffs on key exports such as diamonds, uranium, and fish could harm competitiveness in the US market, reduce export volumes, and lower foreign exchange earnings.
However, with the current tariff set at 15%, some economists believe the impact on Namibia’s export sector may be limited.
