The US returns to uranium enrichment. France is here to help with this

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced on Tuesday that the US, in partnership with France, will resume uranium enrichment. He promised to continue LNG supplies to Europe “at low prices”, but warned that the EU's CO2 tariff mechanism could make these exports “too risky”.

Wright spoke in Paris at a conference organized by the French Institute of International Relations.

LNG gas for Europe – cheap but “risky”

He assured that the US would continue to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas (LNG), sold at low prices, but at the same time recognized that the CO2 emission-based border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) introduced by the EU involves fees that may make “exporting gas to Europe would become too risky“.

Reuters specifies that the mentioned mechanism introduces customs duties on imported goods, including steel and cement, but does not apply to gas.

As the EU explains on its website, “CBAM is the EU's tool to set fair prices for carbon emissions in the production of carbon-intensive goods entering the EU and to encourage cleaner industrial production in third countries.”

Ultimatum to the International Energy Agency

Wright stated that the United States is not satisfied with the reforms carried out at the International Energy Agency, does not need its “net zero (CO2) emissions scenario” and warned that The US will leave this body if it insists on “climate issues”.

The minister also announced that the United States would start enriching uranium again on its own territory. In January, the French Orano Group, specializing in nuclear energy, concluded a contract worth USD 900 million with the US Ministry of Energy for the construction of uranium enrichment plants in Tennessee. (PAP)

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