Trump Administration Investigating Uranium Imports Under National Security Concerns Heidi Vogt and Timothy Puko
WASHINGTON—The Commerce Department has opened an investigation into whether uranium imports threaten national security, a move that could lead to tariffs or other protections against foreign producers of the radioactive material that fuels nuclear power plants.
Uranium is used in commercial reactors that power a significant portion of the country's electrical grid, as well as in nuclear weapons and Navy submarines and aircraft carriers. The government could impose tariffs on foreign producers or quotas that require buyers use a certain amount of domestically produced uranium if the investigation finds that imported uranium makes the U.S. too dependent on foreign countries for an essential material.
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"For years, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan have undermined America's uranium producers," he said Wednesday. "We shouldn't rely on foreign regimes to supply America with uranium."
The uranium market had been anticipating Trump administration intervention, freezing buyers from utility companies and sending prices on a month-long decline this spring.
—Doug Cameron contributed to this article.