WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium as the United States continues to try to disrupt Russian efforts in its war against Ukraine.
The Senate passed the measure unanimously, meaning no senators objected to it. The House of Representatives adopted the bill in December.
is used to power commercial nuclear reactors that produce electricity.
The legislation would ban imports 90 days after enactment. It contains waivers in case there were supply problems for domestic reactors. The bill also frees up $2.7 billion passed in previous legislation to build the domestic uranium processing industry.
The United States banned imports of Russian oil shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and imposed a price ceiling on some exports of its crude oil and oil products.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. nuclear power plants imported about 12% of their uranium from Russia in 2022.
“Wyoming has the uranium to replace Russian imports, and we are ready to use it,” U.S. Senator John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, said in a statement. Barrasso is from the state of Wyoming.
“Our bipartisan legislation will help dismantle the Russian war machine, revive U.S. uranium production and boost investment in the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain,” he said.
Last week, President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid bill to provide billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Biden is expected to sign the uranium import bill.
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A National Security Council spokesperson had called on Congress in a statement Monday to impose the ban, saying it would “provide assurance to industry, allies and partners that the U.S. has made a clear decision to ensure the safe delivery of nuclear fuel. chain, independent of hostile influence, for decades to come.”
