US Senate votes to adopt bill banning Russian uranium imports

The United States Senate has passed a bill to prohibit imports of Russian uranium, amid Washington’s efforts to tighten restrictions on Moscow's fuel products.

The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, approved by the US House of Representatives in December, received unanimous support from senators on Tuesday. It is anticipated that President Joe Biden will sign the legislation into law.

The legislature would become law 90 days after Biden signs the document. Some temporary waivers will, however, be allowed until January 2028.

“America’s dangerous reliance on Russian enriched uranium must come to an end — our national security depends on it,” Senator Jim Risch, the bill’s co-sponsor, said in a statement.

According to the Congress website, the bill specifically “bans unirradiated low-enriched uranium (i.e., uranium that has not been in a reactor) that is produced in Russia or by a Russian entity from being imported into the United States.”

“The bill also prohibits the importation of unirradiated low-enriched uranium that has been swapped for the banned uranium or otherwise obtained in a manner designed to circumvent the ban's restrictions,” it added.

The decision came as a spokesperson from the National Security Council urged Congress on Monday to impose the ban, emphasizing that it would ensure a “secure nuclear fuel supply chain, independent adversarial influence” for country, its allies, and partners.

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In 2022, the US Energy Information Administration reported that approximately 12% of the uranium used by nuclear power plants in the US came from Russia.

"Wyoming has the uranium to replace Russian imports, and we're ready to use it," said US Senator John Barrasso, the top Republican on the Senate Energy Committee, in a statement. Barrasso is from the state of Wyoming.

"Our bipartisan legislation will help defund Russia's war machine, revive American uranium production, and jumpstart investments in America's nuclear fuel supply chain," he added.

After Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the US implemented a ban on the importation of Russian oil and also introduced a price limit on certain exports of its own crude oil and oil products.

This comes as Biden signed a foreign aid package last week to allocate billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The US and Russia remain at odds over a number of issues, including the Ukrainian conflict. 

Moscow has warned Kiev's Western allies, particularly the US, that sending weapons to the ex-Soviet country will prolong the conflict. 

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