Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC) president Isidore Mörsel presented an 18-carat ring to US Ambassador Bill White in Brussels on 28 June. The ring was designed by David Gotlib and contains 321 diamonds, 56 sapphires, 13 emeralds and six rubies.
On 23 July, four weeks later, the US exempted natural diamonds from Europe from global tariffs, affecting Antwerp's annual polished diamond exports. The administration’s proposed list, published on 5 June, did not specifically include diamonds before the exemption.
Democrat Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have questioned the timing of the gift, describing it as a 'cartoonish bribe' and raising potential federal bribery concerns.
The senators have reportedly asked AWDC and Gotlib to clarify who commissioned and funded the ring, its cost, and any communications with US officials about the tariff exemption. They also requested an estimate of the exemption's financial impact on the Belgian diamond industry.
A White House spokesperson said the exemption reflected the administration’s commitment to trade relations between Europe and the US. The tariff exemption was justified by the US’s lack of a domestic diamond mining or cutting industry.
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