Biden signs historic ban on imports of Russian enriched uranium

(Patria) - U.S. President Joe Biden signed a law on Monday banning Russian enriched uranium, the White House said, Reuters reported.

The ban on imports of fuel for nuclear power plants takes effect in about 90 days, although it allows the Department of Energy to issue waivers in case of supply concerns. Russia is the world's largest supplier of enriched uranium, and about 24 percent of the enriched uranium used by U.S. nuclear power plants comes from that country.

The law also unlocks about $2.7 billion in funding from previous legislation to build the U.S. uranium fuel industry.

"President Biden today signed into law a historic set of actions that will strengthen our country's energy and economic security by reducing and ultimately eliminating our reliance on Russia for civilian nuclear power," said Jake Sullivan, national security adviser.

Sullivan said the law "fulfills the multilateral goals we set with our allies and partners," including a pledge last December with Canada, France, Japan and the United Kingdom to jointly invest $4.2 billion in expanding uranium enrichment and conversion capacity.

Waivers, if implemented by the Department of Energy, allow all imports of Russian uranium that the U.S. typically imports until 2027.