The US Senate approved a ban on the import of low-enriched uranium from Russia

The US Senate, following the House of Representatives, approved a bill to introduce a ban on the import of low-enriched uranium of Russian origin, Bloomberg reports . It must now be signed by President Joe Biden. The restriction will take effect 90 days after the law enters into force.

The ban applies to low-enriched uranium produced in Russia or one of the enterprises registered in Russia. The restriction will remain in effect until 2040. However, the document also implies temporary deviations. Thus, until January 2028, the US Department of Energy, in agreement with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, will be able to issue permits for the import of Russian uranium if there are no other sources of supply.

As Bloomberg notes, Russia supplies the United States with about 20% of the enriched uranium used as fuel for American nuclear power plants, making it the No. 1 foreign supplier. These sales bring Moscow about $1 billion annually, but replenishing these supplies can be difficult and involves the risk of increasing fuel costs by about 20% (to more than $200 per pound), the agency notes.

In January of this year, the head of the US Nuclear Energy Agency, Catherine Huff, said that the United States intends, together with its allies, to achieve the possibility of producing low-enriched uranium, which is used to fuel nuclear power plants, in order to free itself from dependence on Russian supplies. According to her, the United States, in cooperation with Japan, Great Britain, France and Canada, intends to create an international supply chain. On April 20, Biden announced that the United States had independently produced the first 90 kg of enriched uranium.

The White House previously called for a “long-term ban” on Russian uranium, which is needed to unlock about $2.7 billion in support for the domestic uranium industry that Congress provided earlier this year on the condition that restrictions be placed on imports of Russian uranium. “This is a national security priority because dependence on Russian uranium sources poses a risk to the US economy and the civilian nuclear industry, which has been further damaged by Russia’s war in Ukraine,” the White House statement emphasized.

Russia condemns Western sanctions and considers them illegal. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that the position of the Russian side in the uranium market is “very difficult to overestimate,” although it is competitive.