MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The US business believes that the law banning import of Russian uranium to the country wreaks havoc on the well-established system, editor-in-chief of the Geoenergetika.ru online magazine Boris Martsinkevich told TASS.

On May 10, before US President Joe Biden signed the law that prohibits the import of uranium produced in Russia, Centrus company stated that it intended to turn to the Department of Energy for a waiver for conducting trade operations with Tenex, a subsidiary of Rosatom (official name is Tekhsnabexport, Tenex is a trademark for export markets), in the future. "Centrus is the only company in the US having a license of the Department of Energy for production of enriched uranium, which is why its statement may be regarded as a response of business to new initiatives of Joe Biden’s administration: the political rhetoric only wreaks havoc," Martsinkevich said.

Speaking about numerous statements on allocation of financing for the creation of additional capacities on uranium enrichment, it is unclear what is behind those statements, the expert noted. "Where in particular can additional investment be allocated - for Centrus or for expansion of production capacities of the European URENCO that already has a uranium enrichment facility on US territory URENCO-USA? In the former case, considering the necessity of conduction of extra R&D and receipt of a license of the Department of Energy, the implementation of the project is postponed by at least a decade. In the latter case, expansion of cooperation with URENCO, the project may be implemented earlier, but the issue will still be about 7-8 years. It is no coincidence that ‘full ban’ on import of Russian enriched uranium in the law is postponed for 2028, even the authors of the law understand that a real market alternative cannot appear within short timeframes," he said.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden signed a law that prohibits the import of non-irradiated, low-enriched uranium produced in Russia or by any Russian company. Washington explained this measure by the need to ensure US independence from supplies from Russia.

On April 30, the United States Senate passed legislation prohibiting imports of enriched uranium from Russia. However, in extreme situations, in the absence of other supplies of uranium to keep US reactors operational, or if such purchases are in the national interest, the law permitted purchases to continue until January 2028. The legislation also required the Department of Energy to investigate and report to Congress on options for replacing Russian uranium supplies.

Commenting on the law signed by Biden, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the ban on imports of uranium from Russia would allow the United States to eliminate dependence on Russia in the field of peaceful nuclear energy. The allocation of $2.72 bln approved by the US Congress at Biden's request will make it possible to create capacity for uranium enrichment in the US, he added.