On July 29, 2003, Bush signed Executive Order 13312,[1] which described the implementation of the Clean Diamond Trade act.

have encouraged a significant amount of illegal gem sales, with profits aiding rebel forces like the Revolutionary United Front and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and allowing for the continuation of civil unrest.

[9] (The United States, under the Ronald Reagan administration and his successor, George H. W. Bush, had strongly supported Savimbi and the UNITA rebels in the late 1970s as he advocated for democracy and freedom[10] during the Cold War.)

United States president Bill Clinton issued executive order 12865[12] to add U.S. sanctions in addition to the UN's efforts.

In 1998 UNITA repealed another peace treaty and returned to war with the Angolan army, prompting the United Nations Security Council to investigate sanctions-busting operations and helping focus international attention on the link between diamonds and conflict in Africa.

[14] The Washington Times wrote, "If the White House fails to immediately shore up the legislation, blood diamonds will symbolize Mr. Clinton's stained legacy in Africa";[This quote needs a citation] especially because, as "the world's largest diamond jewelry market",[5] the United States had more of a responsibility to take initiative in supporting the KPCS and in the CDTA legislation.

Participating countries and industries and civil society observers meet twice each year to improve and refine the systems that have led diamonds to be one of the most monitored and audited natural resources in the world.

[15][16] Participation is open to all who "are willing and able to fulfill [its] requirements": diamonds must be transported in tamper proof containers with a government validated certificate as to authenticate their origins.

[19] Reports submitted to the United Nations Security Council in October 2002 charge that both the Angolan rebel leader, Mr. Jonas Savimbi, and the Liberian government still violate the trade and weapons bans with the help of a global network of arms dealers, diamond merchants and natural resources companies.

[20] Leaders have to use discretion when increasing sanctions, because though they help to discourage conflict diamonds, they can also stunt the growth and development necessary for the countries' fragile economies.

"It's clear that international traders are always ready to bypass the sanctions and buy diamonds coming from UNITA," UN official Juan Larrain said in 2000.

[21] The Clean Diamond Trade Act was revised several times before a version of the bill was successfully passed by Congress, and signed into law by the President of the United States.

[39] Section 4 of the new law required President George W. Bush to “prohibit the importation into, or exportation from, the United States of any rough diamond, from whatever source, that has not been controlled through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).

[40][41] According to a CRS report, the Bush administration began implementing KPCS before the passage of the House of Representatives Bill[42] H.R.

[citation needed] In 2006, this was extended to 2012, and in 2009, President Barack Obama confirmed the Waiver Certification to remain in effect through December 31, 2012.

[citation needed] The implementation of the KPCS is coordinated by the State Department's Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.

[3][47] The person in charge of coordinating the implementation is U.S. State Department's Special Advisor for Conflict Diamonds, Brad Brooks-Rubin.

It is suggested that the United States implement more intensive reporting and inspection of rough diamonds to the ensure the success of the trade act.

“Because of weaknesses of the system," it said, "the United States cannot ensure that illicit rough diamonds are not traded.”[3][55][56] The complete text of the regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury can be publicly accessed.

Resolution 55/56, being the document adopted by the general assembly in 2000 aimed at breaking the link between the transaction of illicit diamonds and armed conflict.

In early November 2001, the Washington Post broke the story that conflict diamonds helped finance Al Qaeda, the group responsible for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

The main court case referencing the CDTA is United States of America vs Approximately 1,170 Carats Of Rough Diamonds Seized At John F. Kennedy International Airport On January 13, 2004.

Filed on July 17, 2007, and decided 2008, the case arouse from Mark Kalisch attempting to import unregistered rough diamonds from Brazil, without a Kimberley Process Certificate.

[citation needed] Under the implementation of the CDTA, Census is the authority responsible for collecting, managing, and analyzing data on diamond imports and exports and reporting it to KPCS.

[65] In 2012, the Census reported that 1,293 Kimberly Process certificates were issued, including countries such as Ukraine, Singapore, and New Zealand.

[66] The Census Bureau in 2012 reported that the United States received rough diamond imports from approximately 24 KP participants including Liberia, Mexico, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Israel, and Japan.