US to investigate if uranium imports threaten national security
Two US uranium producers filed a petition in January asking for the probe under the same provision Trump used to slap tariffs on steel and aluminium imports
The Trump administration launched an investigation into whether uranium imports threatened US national security, a move that may lead to tariffs on the metal. The commerce department said on Wednesday that it would probe "whether the present quantity and circumstances of uranium ore and product imports into the US threaten to impair the national security". The probe will cover the entire uranium sector, from the mining industry to enrichment, defence and industrial consumption, the department said. The department of defence would be consulted about national defence requirements for uranium, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said in a separate letter to defence secretary James Mattis, notifying him of the investigation. US production of uranium necessary for military and electric power has dropped to 5% of domestic consumption, from 49%, said Ross. US uranium producers Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy filed a petition in January asking the commerce department to investigate the matter under s...
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