User:Bbenitez/sandbox

Media Involvement
In addition to the Kimberly process, the United States took steps to ensure the creation of a legal agreement to help end criminal diamond trade. Representative Tony P. Hall (D-OH) led on the issue in Congress He introduced the Clean Diamonds Act, H.R. 918, on March 7, 2001, to lessen U.S. involvement in this illicit diamond trade. The bill prohibits individuals or corporations from importing unworked diamonds into the United States unless the extracting and intermediary countries utilize export and import controls verifying the legitimacy of the diamonds. Although this bill was never enacted in the United States, it certainly influenced American participation in the negotiations and ultimately the outcome of the agreement

Then, on April 25, 2003, another Congressional bill dubbed the “Clean Diamonds Trade Act", became law weeks after its introduction. This time support from the bill came from a much larger audience, including the diamond industry, NGO’s and the Bush Administration. The bill added additional penalties for violations, but for the most part only provided a set of guidelines for implementing the policies that were previously set forth in the Kimberly process.