Russia Leads US Nuclear Fuel Imports in 2024, Defying Enriched Uranium Ban

Russia remained the leading supplier of nuclear reactor fuel to the United States last year, despite Washington’s formal ban on enriched uranium imports from Moscow, according to new data from the US Department of Energy.

Bloomberg reported on September 30, citing the US Energy Information Administration, that Russia supplied 20% of the enriched uranium used in American commercial nuclear reactors in 2024. Although this marked a decrease from nearly 27% in 2023, the data highlights Washington’s ongoing reliance on Russian fuel.

The shipments continued even after President Joe Biden signed legislation halting imports of Russian reactor fuel in May 2024. The ban officially took effect in August, but it allows the Department of Energy to grant waivers until 2028 if no alternative sources are available or if imports are deemed necessary for national interest.

According to Bloomberg, among those granted such waivers are Constellation Energy Corp. and Centrus Energy Corp.

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The revelation comes as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on Europe and other global partners to reduce their reliance on Russian energy exports, including oil and natural gas.

Meanwhile, Congress has allocated billions of dollars to the Department of Energy to restore America’s nearly dormant capacity to produce enriched uranium domestically, Bloomberg reported. The agency is expected to begin disbursing those funds soon, with the goal of reducing US reliance on Russian nuclear fuel in the coming years.

Earlier, according to a study by the international environmental organization Greenpeace, four European Union countries—France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands—paid Russia more for liquefied natural gas between 2022, the year Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and 2025 than they collectively provided in aid to Kyiv.

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