US: Ban on Uranium Imports from Russia

WASHINGTON—This is Washington's latest move to insulate itself from the Russian economy amid Russian aggression in Ukraine. Russia is the world's largest producer of enriched uranium, providing about 24 percent of the nuclear fuel used in U.S. power plants so far. It is also the reason why the import ban is more than similar measures against oil and gas from Russia passed by Congress in February 2022.

There is a 90-day transition period before the ban takes effect. However, the government is allowed to declare exceptions in cases where nuclear reactors are threatened with closure without Russian supplies. About $2.7 billion will be provided to support U.S. uranium processing companies.