De Beers to plead guilty to price fixing.

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- The world's largest diamond producer will meet U.S. demands to gain access to the world's biggest diamond market, the New York Times reported Saturday.

South Africa's De Beers, after nearly a half century of being barred from operating within the United States, has agreed to plead guilty to criminal price fixing.

The move ends a decade-long case and paves the way for the company to return to the United States after an absence of nearly half a century.

The company is expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a Columbus, Ohio, federal court and face a maximum fine of $10 million.

The agreement is the result of months of negotiations and will enable De Beers to re-establish itself in the United States, the world's most lucrative market for diamonds.

The Times said the settlement comes as De Beers responds to its declining diamond production and prepares to move "downstream" in the diamond market as a way to sustain and even increase its profits.