When You Think of Chile, Do You Think of Diamonds?
I bet you answered No .
South Africa, several other African countries, Israel, Antwerp, Japan, and The United States are synonymous with Diamonds, not Chile.
Well, things are a-changing. Chile will be hosting its tenth international jewelry, watch, and precious stones show, Joya Chile 2005, from May 23-26 in Santiago. The show is dedicated exclusively to importers, wholesalers, retailers, jewelers, designers and other industry professionals and is not open to the general public.
It turns out that over the past ten years, very quietly Chile has signed many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements opening up its economy, so that investors now have access to a market of almost 1.2 billion consumers.
Chile has exempted many countries from paying import taxes on any type of gold and silver jewelry set with stones, diamonds or pearls. These countries include Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the UK, the US, Canada, and South Korea.
The Chilean government’s recent discounting of tax on luxury goods, including jewelry, from 50% to 15%, signals the beginning of the end of a highly taxed and regulated luxury goods market. Because of this new deregulation, jewelry consumption will increase significantly and formal jewelry imports should climb 20% annually.
Most importantly, this step by the Chilean Governement to open up it's markets in this sector of the economy will no doubt to further deregulation, open markets, and increased commerce.
Good to see.
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