Commerce Department launches investigation on the entire uranium sector

On January 17, 2018, two U.S. uranium mining companies, UR-Energy and Energy Fuels, filed a petition requesting that the #Commerce Department initiate a Section 232 investigation into imports of uranium ore and products. Secretary Ross decided to accept the petition and launched an investigation into whether the present quantity and circumstances of uranium ore and product imports into the United States threaten to impair national security. The investigation will canvass the entire uranium sector from the mining industry through enrichment, defense, and industrial consumption. Secretary Ross sent a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis, informing him of the initiation of the investigation.

Key considerations prompting the investigation:

• Uranium powers 99 U.S. commercial nuclear reactors that produce 20 percent of the electricity for the U.S. electric grid, a key element to U.S. critical infrastructure.
• Uranium is a required component of our nuclear arsenal and is used to power the Navy’s nuclear fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers.
• U.S. uranium production had been 49 percent of U.S. requirements in 1987. Today, U.S. uranium production has dropped to only five percent of U.S. requirements.
• Three U.S. companies with mining operations have been idled in recent years.
• Two U.S. petitioners, accounting for over half of all uranium mined in the U.S., have laid off over half their workforce over the last two years and operate at roughly nine percent and 13 percent of capacity respectively.
• Shuttered mines would take years to reopen under current environmental permitting regulations. 

Background

Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to conduct comprehensive investigations to determine the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the United States. It requires that the Secretary notify the Secretary of Defense that an investigation has been initiated. The Secretary also consults with the Secretary of Defense regarding methodological and policy questions raised in the investigation and can seek information and advice from other government agencies.

The Secretary’s report to the President, prepared within 270 days of initiation, focuses on whether the importation of the article in question is in such quantities or under such circumstances as to threaten to impair the national security. The President can concur or not with the Secretary’s recommendations, and, if necessary, take action to “adjust the imports of an article and its derivatives.” In addition, the Secretary can recommend, and the President can take, other lawful non-trade related actions necessary to address the threat.