GAO: U.S. struggles to crack Burmese gem trade

GAO: U.S. struggles to crack Burmese gem trade    A congressional watchdog agency said that while the United States has passed legislation to ban the import of Burmese-origin jadeite and rubies, these precious stones would likely continue to flow into the U.S. market without cooperation from the other importing countries.
   In 2008, Congress passed the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act, which contains provisions for the United States to pursue international actions to prevent the global trade in Burmese gemstones.
   'Strong support and cooperation from China and Thailand are important to restrict trade in these items, but highly unlikely,' the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Wednesday. China and Thailand are major buyers, processors and exporters of Burmese jadeite and rubies.
   Congress would like to see the development of a similar international regime for controlling Burmese jadeite and rubies that's in place for so-called 'conflict diamonds,' which are mined and sold by West African governments and warlords to fuel bloody fighting in the region. In November 2002, diamond-producing and diamond-trading countries launched the Kimberley Process, a voluntary global system to control the trade of rough diamonds.
   GAO said federal agencies have taken some steps to control U.S. imports of Burmese-origin jadeite and rubies, but so far they have had little impact. Some U.S. jewelry representatives told GAO that import restrictions have inadvertently constrained legitimate ruby imports. There is also little guidance to importers as to what constitutes verifiable evidence of non-Burmese-origin stones, GAO said.
   'Although agencies have begun to collect data on ruby and jadeite imports, further efforts could contribute to an understanding of whether restrictions are effectively targeting Burmese-origin imports,' GAO said.
   Meanwhile, GAO recommended in its report that the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with relevant federal agencies, take additional steps to issue guidance about imports of non-Burmese-origin goods, and that the State Department, in consultation with DHS and the Treasury Department, analyze the JADE Act measures and report to Congress how these measures contribute to its efforts to exert influence on the Burmese regime.