Defending Against Rosatom Exports Act
This bill extends limits on the importation of Russian low-enriched uranium, a fuel for nuclear reactors, and contains other related provisions. (These limits stem from a 1992 agreement with Russia to end a Department of Commerce antidumping investigation into Russian uranium imports.)
The bill extends these limits, which are currently set to expire in 2020, to 2035. The bill also specifies the maximum amounts of qualifying uranium that may be imported each year for 2021-2035.
Currently, qualifying uranium imported for use in the initial core of a new reactor or for the Department of Energy inventory does not count against these limits. The bill eliminates these two exceptions but maintains an exception for uranium imported for reprocessing and reexportation.
No more than 25% of qualifying uranium may be imported each year under a contract other than a contract exclusively for separative work units. (A separative work unit is the standard unit of measurement for effort expended to enrich uranium.)
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7141 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7141
To extend limitations on the importation of uranium from the Russian
Federation, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 8, 2020
Ms. Torres Small of New Mexico (for herself and Mr. Bishop of Utah)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend limitations on the importation of uranium from the Russian
Federation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Defending Against Rosatom Exports
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Russia has repeatedly used its energy resources as a
tool to advance its policy goals and as a weapon to manipulate
the decisions of other countries.
(2) Such efforts include the nuclear energy sector, in
which the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation (ROSATOM)
uses subsidies and other state support to advance the political
goals of Russia's leadership.
(3) Russia has long sought to expand its role and influence
in the nuclear energy sector of the United States and of United
States allies and partners.
(4) Since October 1992, the Department of Commerce has
suspended an antidumping duty investigation involving uranium
from Russia on the basis of an agreement by Russia to restrict
the volume of exports of uranium to the United States in order
to prevent the suppression or undercutting of price levels of
United States uranium.
(5) That agreement to suspend such antidumping duty
investigation is set to expire at the end of 2020.
(6) Section 3112A of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C.
2997h-10a), commonly known as the ``Domenici Amendment'',
provides limits on the importation into the United States of
low-enriched uranium produced in Russia through 2020.
(7) While Russia has mounted a disinformation campaign
regarding the suitability of using nuclear fuel produced by
United States companies in Russian-built nuclear reactors,
ROSATOM is seeking to produce nuclear fuel for use in United
States reactors.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States to--
(1) ensure that the United States is not dependent on
Russian energy sources, including low-enriched uranium and the
inputs for nuclear fuel;
(2) assist United States allies and partner countries to
reduce their dependency on Russian energy sources, including
nuclear power and the inputs for nuclear fuel; and
(3) use all necessary tools, including the Department of
Commerce's entity list, to ensure that technology transferred
to entities in Russia's civil nuclear sector do not--
(A) in any way contribute to Russia's nuclear
weapons program; or
(B) enable Russia to expand its export of nuclear
power to the United States or United States allies and
partners.
SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF LIMITATIONS ON IMPORTATION OF URANIUM FROM THE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
(a) In General.--Section 3112A(c) of the USEC Privatization Act (42
U.S.C. 2297h-10a(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in clause (vi), by striking ``; and''
and inserting a semicolon;
(ii) in clause (vii), by striking the
period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(viii) in calendar year 2021, 362,045
kilograms;
``(ix) in calendar year 2022, 356,499
kilograms;
``(x) in calendar year 2023, 351,242
kilograms;
``(xi) in calendar year 2024, 346,974
kilograms;
``(xii) in calendar year 2025, 342,489
kilograms;
``(xiii) in calendar year 2026, 337,979
kilograms;
``(xiv) in calendar year 2027, 334,266
kilograms;
``(xv) in calendar year 2028, 334,266
kilograms;
``(xvi) in calendar year 2029, 330,190
kilograms;
``(xvii) in calendar year 2030, 322,450
kilograms;
``(xviii) in calendar year 2031, 319,267
kilograms;
``(xix) in calendar year 2032, 312,853
kilograms;
``(xx) in calendar year 2033, 308,271
kilograms;
``(xxi) in calendar year 2034, 289,390
kilograms; and
``(xxii) in calendar year 2035, 285,918
kilograms.'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
subparagraph (C); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) Separative work units requirement.--Not more
than 25 percent of the quantity of low-enriched uranium
produced in the Russian Federation and imported under
subparagraph (A) in any year may be imported under
contracts other than contracts exclusively for
separative work units.'';
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ``United States--'' and
all that follows and inserting the following: ``United States
for processing and to be certified for reexportation and not
for consumption in the United States.'';
(3) in paragraph (5)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``reference data'' and all
that follows through ``2019'' and inserting the
following: ``Lower Scenario data in the 2019
report of the World Nuclear Association
entitled `The Nuclear Fuel Report: Global
Scenarios for Demand and Supply Availability
2019-2040'. In each of calendar years 2022,
2025, 2028, 2031, and 2034''; and
(ii) by striking ``report or a subsequent
report'' and inserting ``report'';
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as
subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively;
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following:
``(B) Report required.--Not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of the Defending
Against Rosatom Exports Act, and every 3 years
thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to
Congress a report that includes--
``(i) a recommendation on the use of all
publicly available data to ensure accurate
forecasting by scenario data to comport to
actual demand for low-enriched uranium for
nuclear reactors in the United States; and
``(ii) an identification of the steps to be
taken to adjust the import limitations
described in paragraph (2)(A) based on the most
accurate scenario data.''; and
(D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated by
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, by striking
``subparagraph (B)'' and inserting ``subparagraph
(C)'';
(4) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ``0.3 percent'' and
inserting ``0.16 percent'';
(5) in paragraph (9), by striking ``2020'' and inserting
``2035''; and
(6) by striking ``(2)(B)'' each place it appears and
inserting ``(2)(C)''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by subsection (a) apply
with respect to uranium imported from the Russian Federation on or
after January 1, 2021.
SEC. 5. REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Secretary of State.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report, which shall be in an
unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, that provides an
assessment of Russia's attempts to use its civil nuclear sector as a
tool of malign influence and includes the following elements:
(1) An analysis of the extent to which Russian civil
nuclear-related enterprises advance policy goals of Russia
instead of strictly commercial interests.
(2) A description of Russian efforts to increase their role
in the civil nuclear sector of the United States and United
States allies and partners.
(3) A description of Russian disinformation efforts against
United States and other non-Russian civil nuclear-related
companies.
(4) An analysis of the national security threat posed by
deeper Russian involvement in the civil nuclear sector of the
United States.
(5) A description of any links between Russia's civil
nuclear sector and its nuclear weapons program.
(b) Secretary of Energy.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees a report, which shall be in an
unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, that describes
any ongoing efforts by the United States Government or United States
persons to introduce Russian-fabricated or Russian-designed nuclear
fuel into reactors located in the United States.
(c) Secretary of Commerce.--Not later than July 1, 2020, or 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, whichever is later, the
Secretary of Commerce shall provide a briefing to the appropriate
congressional committees on the status of negotiations to extend beyond
2020 the agreement to suspend the antidumping duty investigation
limiting the importation into the United States of low-enriched uranium
produced in Russia.
SEC. 6. DEFINITION.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways
and Means, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on
Finance, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of
the Senate.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
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