{"id":41627,"date":"2026-08-12T21:06:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41627"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:06:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:06:55","slug":"dem-senators-accuse-belgian-diamond-group-of-cartoonish-bribe-to-trump-to-buy-break-from-tariffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=41627","title":{"rendered":"Dem senators accuse Belgian diamond group of \u2018cartoonish bribe\u2019 to Trump to buy break from tariffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/03\/EU_Trump-Ring_36299_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Two Democratic senators are pressing for answers about whether a diamond trade organization\u2019s 18-karat gold ring gifted to President Trump was a \u201ccartoonish bribe\u201d to obtain tariff exemptions.<\/p>\n<p>The Antwerp World Diamond Centre bestowed upon the president a ring encrusted with 321 diamonds and 75 gemstones for America\u2019s semiquincentennial anniversary. The gift was to symbolize the \u201chistoric trade relationship\u201d between the Belgian city and the U.S., which the industry group described as \u201cthe most important export market for Antwerp\u2019s natural diamonds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut allege that the Belgian diamond dealer gifted the ring to Mr. Trump weeks before the administration announced it was exempting European diamonds from its tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>European natural diamonds were spared from Section 301 tariffs, giving Belgium\u2019s gems 0% tariff access to the U.S. market.<\/p>\n<p>In their Monday letter to Antwerp World Diamond Centre President Isidore Morsel and jeweler David Gotlib, who designed and crafted the ring, the lawmakers said that the \u201ccircumstances surrounding the European diamond industry\u2019s exemptions raise troubling new questions about foreign corporate interests potentially buying special favors from President Trump with lavish gifts \u2014 or in the case of the gold ring, what appears to be a cartoonish bribe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the Supreme Court struck down Mr. Trump\u2019s tariffs in February, a new 10% blanket tariff cost Antwerp its status as the only major diamond hub with tariff-free U.S. access.<\/p>\n<p>Following the high court\u2019s decision, the AWDC, which represents roughly 1,400 Belgian diamond companies, submitted formal feedback to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative advocating for upholding the previously granted tariff exemption for polished diamonds.<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe Trump administration agreed to provide preferential tariff treatment for diamonds as part of our historic trade deal with the European Union that was signed last summer,\u201d White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement to The Washington Times. \u201cThe exemption of diamonds in the Forced Labor Section 301 tariffs reflects how the Administration continues upholding our end of the deal. The only special interest guiding the Trump administration\u2019s decision-making is the best interest of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The ring, featuring diamond \u201cT\u201d emblems and the \u201c45\u201d and \u201c47\u201d logos, was made specifically for the president. The interior engraving reads \u201cCrafted in Antwerp for Donald John Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, your gift of the gold ring suggests that AWDC did not limit its efforts to formal regulatory channels,\u201d Ms. Warren and Mr. Blumenthal wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Even if the diamond dealer\u2019s status as a public-private partnership with the Belgian government requires Mr. Trump to give up the ring under the Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bars anyone in federal office from taking gifts from foreign states without permission from Congress, the gift could \u201cstill play directly into President Trump\u2019s well-established affinity for shiny gifts,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The Times has reached out to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre for comment.<\/p>\n<section class=\"author-contact-section\">\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two Democratic senators are pressing for answers about whether a diamond trade organization\u2019s 18-karat gold ring gifted to President Trump was a \u201ccartoonish bribe\u201d to obtain tariff exemptions. The Antwerp World Diamond Centre bestowed upon the president a ring encrusted with 321 diamonds and 75 gemstones for America\u2019s semiquincentennial anniversary. The gift was to symbolize&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41628,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/07\/03\/EU_Trump-Ring_36299_c0-191-4590-2868_s1200x700.jpg?1d5b3166087d47671aae5ecb4462f5fdc31fee3a","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}