US Firms' Push to Continue Purchasing Russian Uranium Predictable - Expert

Centrus corporation is due to seek special treatment, arguing it is in the national interests - a move that comes as no surprise, editor-in-chief of the nuclear energy portal AtomInfo.ru Alexander Uvarov told Sputnik.

Leading US nuclear fuel company Centrus has said it will seek an exemption from the recently passed bill banning the import of enriched Russian uranium. Centrus claims that the exemption is needed to continue supplying this strategic material to its customers and to ensure the interests of the entire American nuclear industry.

Company spokeswoman Lindsay Geisler said in an interview with Axios that quickly eliminating the ban on imports of Russian uranium was critical for Centrus, as well as for the entire US nuclear industry.

Centrus (previously known as USEC Inc. before going through a managed bankruptcy procedure) is the largest dealer in the United States that resells enriched uranium to energy companies.

its push to seek an exemption from the restrictions was to be expected, experts told Sputnik.

“I had absolutely no doubt that American customers would try to retain the opportunity to import enriched uranium products from Russia for as long as possible. In fact, that is why the bill was written the way it was written - 'you cannot buy enriched uranium in Russia, but if you really need it, then you can do it, and in exactly the same volumes as before"," editor-in-chief of the nuclear energy portal AtomInfo.ru Alexander Uvarov said.

“The United States, unlike some other Western countries, does not like to shoot itself in the foot, and if it has to do so, it chooses a water pistol,” he emphasized.

The US Senate on April 30 passed a bill to ban the import of Russian uranium (HR 1042), which prohibits the import of uranium from Russia and comes into force 90 days after adoption. The bill, previously passed by the US House of Representatives, was presented to US President Joe Biden for signature. At the same time, the legislation includes a provision that allows for exceptions to the ban until 2027, including if such an exception is in the national interests.

In December 2023, the US House of Representatives approved a similar bill to introduce a ban on the import of low-enriched uranium of Russian origin, which will remain in effect until 2040.

At the same time, the initiative authorizes the US secretary of energy, in agreement with the secretary of state and the head of the Department of Commerce, to lift this ban if other sources of uranium supply are unavailable or if the import of Russian fuel is in the national interests.

Currently, nuclear energy makes up 20% of US energy generation, while uranium supplies from Russia account for about 20% of this. Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom supplies enriched uranium, used as fuel feedstock, to more than 90 commercial reactors in the United States, making it the United States' number one foreign supplier, according to the US Department of Energy.

The restrictions on importing nuclear material, including uranium, will first of all deal a serious blow to the cost of the US' own nuclear projects, but will not restrain Rosatom, which is increasing trade with friendly countries, General Director of the Russian state corporation Alexey Likhachev previously said.

At the same time, the world uranium market was shaken by US statements about abandoning Russian uranium, Likhachev said. Prices on the world uranium market have risen sharply after the US announced its intentions.

Rosatom has repeatedly emphasized that it fully fulfills all obligations to foreign customers and that the political situation should not destabilize the operation of the nuclear fuel market.