U.S. ban on Russian energy imports does not include uranium

U.S. President Joe Biden's ban on American imports of Russian oil and other energy products, announced on Tuesday, does not include a ban on imports of uranium for nuclear power plants, a source familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. power industry relies on Russia and its allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for roughly half of the uranium powering its nuclear power plants. The industry has been lobbying the White House to continue to allow uranium imports from Russia despite Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

There is no U.S. uranium production or processing, though several companies have said they would like to resume domestic production in Texas or Wyoming if nuclear power producers sign long-term supply contracts, Reuters reported.