According to media reports, US President Joe Biden signed a bill banning the import of unirradiated low-enriched uranium produced in Russia by the United States. The new import ban will come into effect in about 90 days, although the ban allows the DOE to issue exemptions in the event of supply issues. According to the American media Reuters, this is the latest move taken by Washington to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. In addition, the new law signed by Biden also provides about $2.7 billion in funding for another previous piece of legislation to build the U.S. uranium fuel industry.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement that Biden signed a piece of legislation that will initiate a series of historic actions that will strengthen our nation's energy and economic security by reducing and eventually eliminating America's dependence on Russian civilian nuclear energy. Sullivan also said the new law achieves the multilateral goals we have set with our allies and partners, including a $4.2 billion joint investment with Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom last December to expand uranium enrichment and conversion.
It is understood that Russia is the world's largest supplier of enriched uranium, and about 24% of the enriched uranium used in US nuclear power plants comes from Russia. According to data provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, Russia supplies low-enriched uranium to more than 90 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States and is the number one external supplier of low-enriched uranium to the United States. And before Biden signed the bill, the United States imported large quantities of uranium from Russia. From January to November 2023, Russia sold a total of $1.017 billion worth of uranium fuel to the United States, the highest since 2010, according to data compiled by the Russian news agency Sputnik. In addition, the United States is also actively moving to seek an alternative to Russian uranium supplies. In January, the United States said it planned to work with allies such as Japan, Britain and France to establish an international supply chain for low-enriched uranium.
It is clear that in order to avoid the impact of the supply of low-enriched uranium on the United States, Biden has done sufficient precautionary work and taken measures both internally and externally. Internally, the U.S. is expanding its reserves of low-enriched uranium to reduce the impact of the product on the U.S. after the ban is imposed, extending the time for the U.S. to find alternatives and giving it enough time to stabilize its supply chain. Externally, the United States is actively establishing an international uranium supply chain and looking for countries that can supply uranium to the United States stably to replace Russia.
But there are only a handful of nuclear fuel enrichment suppliers in Western countries that have uranium enrichment capabilities, including Orano and Eurouan Uranium. The United States, the world's largest producer of nuclear energy, accounts for about 30% of global nuclear power generation, and the demand for enriched uranium fuel is very high. Therefore, it can be predicted that the United States will still face some pressure if it wants to solve the problem of uranium supply to Russia in the short term.
In addition to signing the "ban on Russian uranium imports" law, Biden also announced that he will quadruple tariffs on imported electric vehicles, raise tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles from 27.5% to 102.5%, and impose an additional 2.5% tariff on all electric vehicles imported into the United States, doubling or tripling other industries.
Regarding the US tariff policy, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that China has always opposed unilateral tariffs in violation of WTO rules and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. It is understood that before and after Biden's ban on Russian uranium imports and the imposition of tariffs on China, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced that at the invitation of China's high-level officials, Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to China from May 16 to 17.
The U.S. government deliberately built trade barriers against China and Russia before strengthening relations between the two countries. However, in the current international situation, win-win cooperation has always been the main theme of world development. Therefore, the US Government's series of attempts to contain the development of China and Russia are doomed to fail. It is predictable that China and Russia will establish a more solid bilateral relationship in the future, strengthen cooperation, jointly respond to the challenges brought about by Western hegemony, and promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.