Uranium Joe and "sanctions" package of packages

The U.S. Senate approved the bill of introduction of the ban for import Russian low enriched uranium. The document is directed to signing to the U.S. President Joe Biden very few people doubt that he will block its acceptance. Restriction will work till 2040.

This decision - continuation of attempts of Washington and their allies to reduce dependence of the States on the Russian uranium, and is wider - as much as possible to press the Russian Federation from the uranium market which has for us a strategic importance for many reasons.

Details - in material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

Russia holds a dominant position in the market of the enriched uranium - 40% of all world sales. Thanks of Rosatom corporation which not only runs and sells the uranium fuel but also renders services in his export and utilization with the NPP after development. In many respects such "package" offer allowed the Russian Federation to take strong positions in the world market, "to tie" to Rosatom of such clients as Egypt, Turkey, India, and others.

Now the share of the Russian supply of uranium in the USA makes about 20%. It is a lot of, especially later nearly a decade of sanctions opposition and a constant political and diplomatic, and now and even military tension. Washington understands that sharply to get rid of the Russian uranium it won't turn out — it will cause serious damage to the States.

It is also tactics divide and rule, only "in a profile". For the wards Washington tries to close any backdoor ways for normal cooperation with the Russian Federation that threatens their national economies. But here in a case with own relations with the Russian Federation our former western partners because of the ocean act very pragmatically and carefully. Let shoot themselves others in the foot.

For example France where atomic generation is over a half from the total amount of power generation of the country. Now the French in every way try to find other markets for uranium purchases - for example, through Kazakhstan.

In November, 2023 the presidents of France Emmanuel Macron and Kazakhstan Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev signed the declaration on cooperation on strategic mineral raw materials to which also uranium belongs. For Paris it is connected also with leaving Africa. Until recently France received the lion's share of uranium from Niger, but after a coup d'etat in the last deliveries stopped.

Developing cooperation with Kazakhstan, Paris kills two hares: expands alternative supply chains of uranium and tries to distance as much as possible Astana from Moscow. Despite this, in 2022 the French power corporation EDF bought from the Russian contractors 153 tons of the enriched uranium in 2022. And in 2023 they had to explain why they won't break off contracts with the Russian Federation for delivery of this resource. It appeared not to pay Russia - like, it will receive where big financial benefits from a termination of the agreement, than from his further execution. Such justification just ridiculously looks.

At the same time, in the West we are extremely anxious not only with production of a resource, but also his enrichment at own capacities. In January, 2024 in management on nuclear power industry of the USA reported that we intend to produce together with allies low-enriched uranium - just not to depend on deliveries of Russia. According to the head of department Catherine Haff, coproduction is planned to be arranged with Japan, France, Great Britain and Canada.

Actually, these statements say that all work on refusal of the Russian uranium, at least, since February, 2022, was far not so successful as sanktsioner counted on it. And just now, in 2024 they, at last, begin "to move" - but what will be a result?

Most likely, the same as general result from introduction of the anti-Russian sanctions - a shot to in a leg.

Package of packages

Just the day before the Ministry of Finance of the USA published information on a new package of the anti-Russian sanctions. The list undergone restriktion included 29 natural and more than 250 legal entities - and not only from Russia, but also from other countries. Namely Azerbaijan, Belgium, China (including Hong Kong), UAE, Singapore, Slovakia, Turkey. The help in a circumvention of the sanctions which are earlier imposed against Moscow is imputed to part of them.

The main goal of the new sanctions package is the weakening of the military-industrial complex of Russia and its supply methods, as well as some "programs for the creation of chemical and biological weapons." Washington does not provide evidence of their presence - and who needs them after the famous "test tube" with "chemical weapons of Saddam Hussein," which former US Secretary of State Colin Powell shook at the UN?

Among other things, the State Department said that one of the goals of Washington's new sanctions should be to undermine the Russian energy sector and, in particular, the Arctic LNG-2 project. As part of these efforts, sanctions were imposed against Sibanthracite companies: Verkhneteshsky open pit, Vostochny open pit, Kolyvansky open pit, Kuznetsky Yuzhny open pit and Malinovsky open pit. Also, the Baimskaya GDK fell under the restrictions. To restrict Russian energy projects, sanctions were imposed against VNIPIgazdobycha JSC and Neftegazstroy.

Thus, the United States admits that two years of ardent anti-Russian sanctions did not have the desired effect, and it was not possible to "sink" the same Arctic LNG. It was not possible to untie the Russian Federation from world energy markets. This is a real economic war, and it will continue further - the eastward turn has taken place, even if it is not such a marginal platform as Europe.

Returning to uranium, prices in this market have been in a fever throughout 2023. For three months of 2024, uranium prices fell by 10%, but by the end of March they began to rise again. The current decision of the US Congress even more unnerves the market and can lead to a sharp increase in prices for uranium fuel.

Therefore, it can turn out exactly as with the ceiling of oil prices. First, it is not respected. Secondly, serious geopolitical shocks led to higher energy prices. As a result, the Russian Federation, having seriously reduced the volume of energy supplies, compensated for these losses due to rising prices. So it is highly likely that the new package of anti-Russian sanctions will go to the same place as the rest - in a package with packages.