China's import tariffs for diamonds have been lifted, but the trade is now required to go through the customs located inside the Shanghai Diamond Exchange which opened in October 2000. At the wholesale level for producers and wholesalers, all gold trading now takes place in the Shanghai Gold Exchange, introducing market prices to the transactions. A further step of liberalisation is to remove the approval requirements of China's central bank on the purchase of gold and on the production, distribution and retailing of gold products from April 2003. As regards the processing trade of gold, the approval requirements of China's central bank has been lifted since the end of 2003. A consultation paper was announced in December 2005, proposing further liberalisation regarding the import / export administration of gold and the entrance requirements for gold traders.

Effective from May 2005, the VAT on exports of jewellery articles of gold and precious materials under general trade is exempted, but the VAT on the import content of such trade, collected when imported into China, will not be rebated.

In response to the concern that diamonds from a few African sources might have been sold through illegal channels to finance civil wars and conflicts among neighbouring countries, the World Diamond Council (WDC), with some participating countries, have come up with a certification scheme to keep track of the rough diamonds exported from the African conflict areas (the so-called Kimberley Process). China, as a signatory to the Kimberley Process, has introduced this certification scheme since 1 January 2003. So has Hong Kong since 2 January 2003. Accordingly, all parties in Hong Kong carrying on a business of importing, exporting, carrying (including carrying rough diamonds in transit and transhipment), buying or selling rough diamonds must now be registered with the Trade and Industry Department (TID). They are also required to obtain Kimberley Process (KP) Certificates issued by TID before the import and export of rough diamonds.

In the EU, environmental and health concerns continue to be major issues. Environmental and health concerns will continue to rise in the EU. The EU has banned the imports of jewellery containing nickel, which can cause allergic reactions when in contact with skin. While this measure provides Hong Kong jewellery products made of other materials a niche in exporting to the EU, other suppliers have started to catch up as they adjust to the requirement.

Another important trade issue is the GSP schemes of the US and the EU. Under the US GSP scheme, jewellery imports from developing countries, most notably Thailand and India, with a few exceptions, are granted tariff exemptions, whereas similar imports from non-beneficiaries (including Hong Kong and the mainland) are charged at 0-13.5%. In the EU, the GSP scheme for jewellery originated from the mainland and Thailand has expired, but not for jewellery of Indian origin.

Other than the above official regulations, various organisations are issuing qualifications to various jewellery materials. They include the World Gold Council, the Natural Colour Diamond Association (NCDIA), and the Diamond Training Company (DTC). For example, Tanzanite Foundation has developed a grading system for tanzanite. Gaining their qualification is a increasing trend, and their measures are expected to be a standard in the future.