Biden bans uranium imports from Russia

Biden has signed legislation that bans imports of uranium from Russia for nuclear fuel. The U.S. will ban uranium imported from Russia starting Aug. 11, the Energy Department announced Tuesday. Russia controls nearly half of the world’s enriched uranium supply and provides about a quarter of the U.S. enriched uranium used to power the country’s 94 nuclear reactors, according to the Energy Department. The ban, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Monday, also unlocks $2.72 billion in federal funds to expand the country’s uranium industry. Exchange-traded funds that track uranium prices rose slightly after the announcement, with the Global X Uranium ETF and Sprott Uranium Miners ETF trading about 1% higher Tuesday. “Our nation’s clean energy future will not depend on imports from Russia. We are making investments to build a secure nuclear fuel supply chain right here in the United States,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. The U.S. continues to import more than 20% of its enriched uranium from Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom, and has imposed sanctions on more than 35 of the company’s subsidiaries since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The latest move signals an end to U.S. dependence on Russia for the commodity, said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.