President Biden on May 13 signed into law the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, which prohibits the importation of Russian low-enriched uranium into the U.S. from Aug. 11. Two types of Russian LEU are subject to the import prohibition: (1) unirradiated LEU produced in Russia or by a Russian entity, and (2) unirradiated LEU that is determined to have been exchanged with, swapped for, or otherwise obtained in lieu of unirradiated LEU produced in Russia or by a Russian entity in a manner designed to circumvent the applicable restrictions.
The law authorizes the Department of Energy to temporarily waive the prohibition and allow the importation of Russian LEU if it is determined that no alternative viable source of LEU is available to sustain the continued operation of a nuclear reactor or a U.S. nuclear energy company, or if the importation of such LEU is in the national interest. The DOE has now issued the applicable waiver procedures and requirements, which may be used to import Russian LEU as long as certain statutory quantitative limits (476,536 kg in 2024, 470,376 kg in 2025, 464,183 in 2026, and 459,083 in 2027) are not exceeded.
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