From 19 August, jewellery and diamonds imported into the United States from Canada carry a new tariff. The mechanism is unusual enough to be worth naming: Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, a Depression-era provision so rarely used that most people in the trade had to look it up when it appeared. It sidesteps the lengthy investigation a standard tariff action requires, and it covers loose polished diamonds, silver, gold necklaces and chains, precious-metal jewellery, and imitation jewellery, all sourced from Canada specifically.
That single action is real, dated, and worth knowing if you're buying in the US market this autumn. What it sits inside is considerably less settled, and any piece written about American tariff policy in 2026 owes you honesty about that instead of false confidence. This is a fast-moving area. Treat the mechanics below as durable and the specific rates as a snapshot, not a permanent record, and check current guidance from the US Trade Representative or a jeweller's trade body before making a purchase decision based on cost alone.
In Brief: A Canada-specific tariff on jewellery and diamonds takes effect 19 August, under a rarely used 1930s provision. It arrives at the end of an unusually volatile year for US trade policy: the Supreme Court struck down the broader tariff framework in February, a temporary replacement expired in late July, and a new regime is still being finalised. What stays true regardless of which rates apply at any given moment: tariff exposure depends on where a piece was actually made, not where it was certified or shipped from, and a pre-owned piece already in the US carries no import charge at all.
The year that led here
Understanding why the picture is so unsettled matters more than any single rate, because it tells you how much further it could still move.
In February, the Supreme Court ruled that the IEEPA emergency powers the administration had been using to impose broad tariffs didn't actually authorise them to do so, striking down the legal basis for a wide swathe of existing duties. The administration responded within days by invoking a different, older provision, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows a temporary import surcharge but caps it by statute at 150 days unless Congress extends it. That surcharge took effect in late February and expired automatically in late July, days before this piece was written. It's being replaced by a narrower, country-by-country regime tied to labour standards, still being finalised as this goes to print.
Layered on top of all of that is the Canada-specific jewellery action under Section 338, which is a separate mechanism entirely and isn't tied to the timeline above. It's the one piece of this picture with a fixed, confirmed date: 19 August.
Why country of manufacture matters more than country of purchase
This is the mechanic worth understanding regardless of which specific rates are in force when you're reading this.
US tariff exposure on jewellery is generally assessed on where a piece underwent its last substantial transformation, not where it was bought, where it was certified, or where it shipped from. A diamond mined in one country, cut and polished in a second, and set into a finished ring in a third is assessed on that final manufacturing step. This is why the same-looking piece from two different retailers can carry meaningfully different duty depending on where each one actually had the work done, and why a certificate of authenticity or a GIA grading report tells you nothing about tariff exposure. Only the manufacturing paper trail does.
Raw, unworked gold and platinum can generally enter the US duty-free as manufacturing inputs. A finished piece made abroad is treated as a different product entirely, assessed on its full value, stones included, once it's crossed that substantial-transformation line.
What's changed for smaller purchases and travellers
Two structural changes are worth knowing independent of any specific tariff rate.
The de minimis exemption, which used to let low-value parcels enter the US duty-free regardless of contents, ended in August 2025. A small piece of jewellery ordered from an overseas retailer and shipped directly no longer arrives tariff-free by default the way it might have two years ago.
Travellers still have the separate $800 per-person personal exemption for goods brought back from abroad. Above that threshold, US duty is owed and should be declared; failing to do so is customs fraud, not a grey area, however small the piece.
The other cost stacking on top
Tariffs aren't arriving in isolation. Gold itself has risen roughly 20% year on year, trading near $4,060 an ounce as of the most recent data available while writing this, down from January's record but still historically elevated. A tariff calculated as a percentage of a piece's full value is a percentage of a more expensive base than it would have been eighteen months ago, which means the combined effect on a finished gold piece is larger than either factor alone would suggest.
What buyers can actually do
Ask where a piece was manufactured, not just where it's sold from. A US retailer selling a piece finished domestically or in a country with more favourable current treatment carries different exposure than the same design finished elsewhere, and a good retailer should be able to answer this directly.
Consider pre-owned and vintage. A piece already held in US inventory has no import event left to tax, tariff or no tariff, regime or no regime. This is the most durable piece of advice in this entire article, because it doesn't depend on which rates are current when you're reading it. Our guide to buying jewellery at auction and our guide to antique jewellery platforms both cover sourcing well-made pieces that sidestep the question entirely.
If ordering from overseas, budget for duty on arrival. With de minimis gone, assume a small parcel from an overseas retailer will attract a charge at the border, not that it won't.
Check current rates before, not after, you commit to a purchase. Given how much this picture has shifted even in the weeks around this article's publication, a rate quoted here or anywhere else should be treated as a starting point for your own check, not a final answer. USTR.gov and the Jewelers Vigilance Committee both publish updates as the situation develops.
Frequently asked questions
What is the new US tariff on Canadian jewellery?
From 19 August, jewellery and diamonds imported into the US from Canada carry a new tariff under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The affected categories include loose polished diamonds, silver, gold necklaces and chains, precious-metal jewellery, and imitation jewellery. The mechanism was invoked specifically because it doesn't require the longer investigation process a standard tariff action would.
Does the tariff apply to jewellery I already own?
No. Tariffs apply at the point goods cross the US border as an import. A piece already owned, or already held in US inventory before a sale, has no import event and so no tariff exposure, regardless of where it was originally manufactured.
How do I know if a piece of jewellery will be affected by tariffs?
The relevant factor is where the piece underwent its final manufacturing step, not where it was bought, shipped from, or certified. Ask the retailer directly where the piece was made or finished. A grading certificate or authenticity document doesn't answer this question, since it speaks to quality and origin of the stone, not the tariff-relevant manufacturing location.
Is buying vintage or pre-owned jewellery a way to avoid tariffs?
Yes, structurally. A piece already in the US has already cleared any import event it was ever going to face, so a domestic pre-owned or vintage purchase carries no tariff regardless of current trade policy. This is one of the more stable pieces of buying advice available in an otherwise fast-changing area.
Will these tariff rates stay the same?
Unlikely to stay fixed for long. US tariff policy has changed substantially several times within 2026 alone, including a Supreme Court ruling that struck down one entire framework and a temporary replacement that has already expired. Treat any specific rate, including the ones in this article, as accurate only as of its publication date, and check current guidance from the US Trade Representative or a trade body such as the Jewelers Vigilance Committee before a purchase decision that depends on the exact figure.
Sources: Rapaport, "US Tariffs on Canadian Imports to Include Diamonds and Jewelry," July 2026; American Gem Trade Association and Jewelers Vigilance Committee member alerts; reporting on the Section 122 surcharge's statutory expiration, July 2026; gold spot price data as of late June 2026. This article reflects the position at the time of writing and should not be relied on as current legal or customs guidance.
