Section 232 Investigation of Uranium Imports (Russia Involvement)

National Law Review ^ | January 18, 2018

[Hadean]

Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. and Ur-Energy USA Inc., on January 16, 2018, filed a petition requesting an investigation of uranium imports under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. Section 232 authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to investigate whether an “article” is being imported into the United States “in such quantities, or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security.”

Section 232 investigations are rare. While the Department of Commerce (DOC) is in the process of completing Section 232 investigations into aluminum and steel imports that it self-initiated in 2017, the most recent investigation prior to that occurred in 2001 but did not result in the imposition of trade remedies. The most recent investigation to result in import action took place in 1983.

The petitioners allege that foreign state-owned uranium producers, primarily from Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Uzbekistan, are selling large amounts of uranium to U.S. purchasers at the lowest market price, potentially eroding the competitiveness of U.S. uranium producers. The petitioners state that 89 percent of the U.S. supply of triuranium octoxide, a common uranium compound, is foreign-sourced, with 38 percent coming from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The petitioners allege that a surge of imports from Kazakhstan is causing severe price depression in the U.S. market, due in part to an 87 percent devaluation in the Kazakh currency and a national policy in Kazakhstan requiring Kazakh uranium to be sold on the spot market. The petitioners state that the current uranium spot price is roughly $23.75 per pound, or less than the cost of production for most producers. Furthermore, they allege that Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company has acquired a major Canadian uranium supplier, with 40 percent of U.S. imports of triuranium octoxide being sourced from Canada and Australia.

[Fhios]

Section 232, Uranium Isotope 232. Coincidence? I think not :/

[SaveFerris]

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

This is just gonna cause dee fission.

[Hadean]

From the above article:

The petitioners note that the United States is precluded by international treaty from using foreign-sourced uranium to produce nuclear weapons and fuel for Navy submarine reactors, and therefore it must be able to mine domestically the material it needs for defense purposes.

Kind of makes perfect sense if Russia obtains uranium through the uranium one deal and then sells it's own foreign sourced uranium back to the US so it cannot be used for weapons development and military purposes.....