New York: The U.S. Department of State published an update on participating countries and entities in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for the purposes of the Clean Diamond Trade Act of 2003. The latest revision follows an update from August 11, 2014 to reflect some changes to country trade bodies and to add Mali and to reiterate the suspension of Venezuela and the Central African Republic (CAR) from trading rough diamonds.

Section 4 of the Clean Diamond Trade Act requires the sitting U.S. president to prohibit the importation into, or the exportation from, the U.S. of any rough diamond, from whatever source, that has not been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. Section 6(b) requires the president to publish a list of all participants, and all importing and exporting authorities, while section 3(4) defines “importing authority” as one or more entities designated by a participant to enforce the laws and regulations of the Kimberley Process.