GAO TEAM TOLD THAT MOST BURMESE STONES SMUGGLED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHIANG MAI 000070 SIPDIS STATE PASS TO TREASURY AND COMMERCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EMIN ETRD ECON PGOV PREL BM CH XA TH SUBJECT: GAO TEAM TOLD THAT MOST BURMESE STONES SMUGGLED REF: A. BANGKOK 1296 (GAO LEARNS) ¶B. BANGKOK 711 (CHANTABURI ARTISANS LAMENT) ¶C. 08 BANGKOK 3703 (MOST RUBIES SMUGGLED) ¶D. 08 BANGKOK 3207 (ORIGIN OF THAI RUBY EXPORTS) ¶E. 08 CHIANG MAI 114 (THAI MARKET TURNS TO AFRICAN RUBIES) ¶F. 07 BANGKOK 6239 (A BURMESE ROCK) ¶G. 07 BANGKOK 5927 (THAI GEM INDUSTRY BELIEVES) CHIANG MAI 00000070 001.2 OF 003 Sensitive but unclassified; please handle accordingly. -------------- Summary and Comment -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Most Thai gem traders do not buy from the Burmese Government auction; the number of Burmese rubies sold in Thailand is declining; the highest value Burmese gems are smuggled out of Burma illegally; small Burmese traders and Thai cutting/polishing/finishing operations are suffering the most from the passage of the JADE Act; and Burma sells most of its jade to China. These were the main points interlocutors made to Government Accountability Office (GAO) officials visiting northern Thailand May 20-22 to review the implementation and impact of the JADE Act. Ref A reported on the team's visit to Bangkok and Chantaburi. ¶2. (SBU) Comment: The visit underscored the Thai view that the JADE Act's impact on Burma's ruling regime is small. A regime prohibition on the export of gems outside of the GoB auction system, Thai dealers' inability to match purchase prices for Burmese gems offered by Chinese and Europeans, and the fact that gems are not on the top 10 list of goods imported into Thailand from Burma via the Thai-Burma border province of Tak, are all factors the Thai cite to support their view. Regardless of whether the decline in gem exports from Thailand to the U.S. and Europe is a result of the JADE Act or the global economic downturn, it seems credible to conclude that small Burmese traders and the Thai finishing industry are bearing the brunt. End Summary and Comment. -------------- Unlikely Burmese Smugglers -------------- ¶3. (SBU) All interlocutors we met with during the GAO team's visit -- gem dealers, Thai Government officials, private businessmen, journalists and a Burmese ruby merchant -- stated that the vast majority of Burmese rubies imported into Thailand are smuggled. RTG officials in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot told us that gems are not among the top 10 items officially imported from Burma into Tak Province, and Chamber of Commerce (COC) contacts said that although no hard numbers were available, they estimated that 90% of gems entering Thailand from Burma were smuggled through Mae Sot. Some of the traders operating there come from as far away as Rangoon and Mogok, according to Chamber members. ¶4. (SBU) All our contacts emphasized that Thai traders simply can't compete with the purchase prices for gems offered by Chinese and European merchants at the Burmese regime's auctions. Therefore, they stated, Thai dealers buy from smaller traders, who smuggle gems across the border at great personal risk. (Note: Gems is one of the commodities the GoB prohibits from being exported via border trade, according to a list the Tak COC shared with us.) According to the COC, violation of this prohibition is punishable by imprisonment. ¶5. (SBU) A Burmese gem trader vacationing in Thailand (protect),whose family has been in the business for over 20 years, told the GAO team that the most valuable stones don't even make it to the GoB's auction. She said that wives of generals and lower-ranking military officers go directly to CHIANG MAI 00000070 002.2 OF 003 mining areas like Mogok to purchase stones, which they then smuggle to Singapore, Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia for resale. ¶6. (SBU) Initially, the wives pay the dealers half the selling price. Once they sell the stones and return to Burma, they then pay the dealers the rest of the money. According to a Burmese journalist in exile, there are "safe boxes" in Singapore specifically to support the smuggling of stones by the wives of Burmese military officers. Meanwhile, stones smuggled across the Burma-Thai border by smaller traders are lower quality, our Burmese trader contact said. -------------- Smugglers, Traders and Routes -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Those who smuggle gems and jadeite from Burma directly into Thailand are mainly small traders and middlemen, according to gem dealers in Mae Sot. Though dealers readily admitted they purchase Burmese stones, none claimed to have participated in the GoB auctions. Government and private sector contacts emphasized the personal nature of the gem trade, and the ease with which gems can be smuggled across the porous Burma-Thai border. (Note: The Moei River forms the border between Mae Sot and Burma's Karen State. In the past, we have observed people freely crossing in inner tubes. Smuggling small amounts of gems and finished jadeite via the official checkpoint at the Friendship Bridge might also be possible.) ¶8. (SBU) RTG officials in Mae Sot told us that there are no official statistics on gem imports from Burma. (Note: We interpret this to mean that no gems or jadeite have entered Thailand through Tak Province legally.) Both government contacts and gem dealers emphasized the small size of the Mae Sot market compared to those in Bangkok and Chantaburi, and that the quality of stones sold at the border is lower than at the bigger markets, where traders can expect to receive a higher price. One dealer estimated that only 10% of rubies sold in Mae Sot are of Burmese origin, with the rest coming from Africa, imported through Chantaburi. (Note: Chantaburi is not an international port, so it is unclear how the rubies would be imported there.) -------------- So Who Goes to the Auction? -------------- ¶9. (SBU) With the vast majority of Thai dealers priced out of the GoB gem auctions, and most stones entering Thailand from Burma smuggled, the GAO team inquired about who participates in the auctions. According to the Tak COC, most auction participants come from Switzerland, Italy, France, the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. According to the Burmese merchant vacationing in Thailand we spoke with, after the Saffron Revolution, only Chinese and Taiwanese buyers traveled to the GoB auctions. COC members told us that at the auction, small business owners don't get fair market value for their stones, which explains why they are willing to take the risks associated with cross-border smuggling. -------------- What About Jade? -------------- ¶10. (SBU) According to Mae Sot gem dealers, most of the jade entering Thailand comes from China. COC contacts told us the CHIANG MAI 00000070 003.2 OF 003 volume of jade traded along the Sino-Burmese border has gone up significantly, due to high Chinese demand relative to that in Thailand, and to the complexity of smuggling unfinished jade, which is heavy and bulky, into Thailand. Bank of Thailand contacts spoke of similar trends, though they could not provide statistics to back up their claims. -------------- Impact of the JADE Act -------------- ¶11. (SBU) All our interlocutors agreed that it is difficult to measure the impact of the JADE Act on the gem trade, particularly given the current global economic recession. One dealer estimated that 75% of the decline in gem sales was due to economic conditions; others put the number much lower. A gem dealer in Chiang Mai told the GAO team that since last year, some Americans have asked for certificates of origin when buying rubies, and alleged that this is due to the JADE Act. ¶12. (SBU) The Burmese merchant with whom we spoke said that the ruby market in Mandalay is "dead," and that only Chinese interest is keeping the jade market there afloat. She added that gem dealers in Mogok cannot keep their jobs, and many have turned to driving taxis. COC contacts and gem dealers in Mae Sot concurred, saying that small-scale traders inside Burma and the Thai finishing industry are bearing the brunt of the JADE Act's impact. They opined that right now, the economic recession is more to blame for the decline in gem sales, but if countries other than the U.S. implemented legislation like the JADE Act, the legislation would be more to blame than the recession. ¶13. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassies Bangkok and Rangoon. The GAO team did not have an opportunity to clear this message. MORROW