US Ban on Russian Uranium Imports Won't Fare Better Than Other Failed Western Sanctions – Expert

Legislation banning supplies of Russian low-enriched uranium to the US over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine was passed by the Senate on April 30. It will come into force 90 days after US President Joe Biden ratified the bill on Tuesday.

It could take the US “years” to replace banned Russian uranium exports, Dr Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist and a global energy expert, told Sputnik.

“The US can’t replace Russian exports immediately because it doesn’t have the production capacity," Salameh said. "It could take it more than two years to build a new capacity and arrange to import bits and pieces from Japan, France, Ukraine and Canada.”

"This very fact will send prices of uranium fuels soaring, thus enhancing Russia’s revenues," the expert added. "Moreover, China is a huge importer of Russian nuclear fuels and Russia will succeed again in finding new markets as it succeeded with its other energy exports."

US President Joe Biden ratified the bill which prohibits US import of "unirradiated, low-enriched uranium that is produced in the Russian Federation or by a Russian entity" on May 13. It also includes measures to close loopholes, said a White House press release.

However, the legislation allows for waivers in cases when the US determines that no alternative viable source of low-enriched uranium is available to sustain the continued operation of a US nuclear reactor or nuclear energy company, or if it also determines that imports of uranium are in the national interest.

Any waiver issued by the US Energy Department must terminate by January 1, 2028, while the ban itself expires on December 31, 2040.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the legislation was aimed at "reducing, and ultimately eliminating, our reliance on Russia for civilian nuclear power."

Russian uranium ban has given US nuclear industry the shivers

"Presently, Russian uranium accounts for 20 to 25 percent of the American nuclear fuel market. It is virtually impossible to suddenly abandon such a supplier. That would mean halting a quarter, or even a third of all… pic.twitter.com/TwpPx6g7jN

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 11, 2024

Uranium is the most-used nuclear fuel in electricity generation. Since 1992, a major part of the uranium purchased by US nuclear power plant operators has been imported.

“Russia is the world's top supplier of enriched uranium, which is processed as a fuel with the most advanced technology,” remarked Salameh. An estimated 24 percent of all uranium fuels used by US refineries is supplied by Russia, noted the global energy expert.

Imports of Russian enriched uranium to the US surged to a record level of $1.2 billion in 2023, marking a 40 percent increase compared to the import volume for 2022, according to the Bellona Environmental Foundation. The surge was attributed to growing prices and increasing physical volumes of Russian nuclear fuel acquired by the US, rising from 588 tons in 2022 to 702 tons in 2023.

Сommenting on the anticipated waivers, Salameh remarked that “in fact it will take much longer to implement the ban fully.”

After the legislation prohibiting supplies of Russian low-enriched uranium to the US — in retalliation for Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine — was passed by the Senate on April 30, US nuclear operators and nuclear fuel market participants did not hesitate to voice their concerns over the ban.

Since the bill contains a provision that allows for the granting of waivers through 2027, Centrus Energy, which has bought uranium from Russia for years, was quick to signal it would apply for such a deferral.

Russian pundits also warned that without the waiver, the US nuclear fuel market may collapse following the ban, leading to skyrocketing costs of enriched uranium.

The US ban on Russia’s exports of enriched uranium will likely suffer the same fate as all other unprecedented Western sanctions that have backfired on their most ardent proponents, Salameh stressed.

"The most unprecedented Western sanctions in history have failed miserably to cripple Russia’s economy and its energy exports. Therefore, President Biden’s signing into law a ban on Russia’s exports of enriched uranium won’t fare better," he concluded.

The US ban on uranium imports from Russia is "not critical for the Russian nuclear industry," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

He added that Washington was finding it difficult to compete with Russia on the international market and, consequently, resorted to measures that "subvert, distort" all the norms of international trade.

The ban is "nothing more than unfair competition," said Peskov, pointing out that "Russia's nuclear industry is one of the most advanced in the world."