March 12, 2022 -Russia’s invasion and warfare against Ukraine are on all our minds. The effects of the war, particularly the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration and the European Union, are also distinctly felt by the diamond industry and trade. During the past ten days, IDMA President Ronnie VanderLinden, together with other gem and industry leaders, attended meeting after meeting, conferring with State Department officials, other governmental representatives, and industry entities to gain insight into the impact of the sanctions on our businesses. We will report further in the next WINC. Meanwhile, as you can read below, the information and news keep coming.
Three weeks into this war, we’re hoping that the aggression of Russia’s armies may soon end. This past Friday, the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an article entitled “Surprises in war, tragic and inspiring.” Describing the resilience of the Ukrainian nation, he also lauded the engagement of private citizens worldwide in assisting private Ukrainian citizens. People helping people. He concluded his article with this: [Quote]“I don’t find any of this surprising. I have always argued that globalization is not just about trade. It is about the ability for countries, companies, and now, increasingly, individuals to connect and act globally. Human beings are hard-wired to want to connect and the hard-wiring of todays’ world is making it easier and cheaper for them to do so every day. All that said, what makes the pleasant surprises in this war so surprising is that they were surprises for people responsible for them.”[End quote]
Hope springs eternal.
