Moscow
\nWashington\u2019s ban on imports of enriched uranium from Russia will have no \u2018critical\u2019 effect on the country\u2019s nuclear industry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
\nUS President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Monday, banning the importation of Russian nuclear reactor fuel, with the legislation set to come into effect in 90 days.
\nAccording to Peskov, the US has resorted to banning uranium imports due to its inability to compete with Russia\u2019s nuclear industry, which is \u201cone of the most advanced in the world.\u201d
\n\u201cIt is not critical for the Russian nuclear industry. It is difficult for Americans to compete with us on the international stage. And when it becomes difficult for them to compete, they tend to go to any lengths, including measures that corrode, distort and smash all the norms and principles of international trade,\u201d he stated.
\nPeskov described Russia\u2019s nuclear industry as \u201cextremely competitive,\u201d and said it would continue to develop despite sanctions.
\nAs of 2022, Russia was the largest enriched uranium exporter on the global market, accounting for roughly 35% of the fuel sales worldwide with an estimated export value of $2 billion, according to Rosatom annual report.
\nThe precise value of Russian enriched uranium exports in 2023 is more difficult to ascertain as neither Russia nor the bulk of its global buyers have made data publicly available. However, according to a recent report by the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) based on a range of sources, Russian exports last year reached $2.7 billion.
\nRussia provided almost a quarter of the enriched uranium that fueled US commercial nuclear reactors in 2022, making it America\u2019s top foreign supplier of the fuel that year, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
\nCommenting on the ban, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov warned that it could backfire on the US economy. America\u2019s current domestic enrichment capacity can supply only 30% of the fuel required by its commercial reactors, according to a US House report. To offset risks, the new legislation allows the US Department of Energy to issue waivers for Russian uranium purchases in the event of supply concerns until 2028. The bill also provides $2.7 billion in federal funding aimed at building new enrichment capacity.
\nExperts previously warned that the ban on Russian nuclear fuel could cause a spike in global prices. Jonathan Hinze, the president of nuclear fuel market research firm UxC, told Bloomberg last month that the ban could see enriched uranium prices go up by as much as 20%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow Washington\u2019s ban on imports of enriched uranium from Russia will have no \u2018critical\u2019 effect on the country\u2019s nuclear industry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. US President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Monday, banning the importation of Russian nuclear reactor fuel, with the legislation set to come into effect in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-407001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n