Enable NRC to deny imports of nuclear fuel fabricated in Russia or China for national
security purposes: The Working Group recognizes the importance of protecting the fuel
fabrication subsector from erosion due to the strategic action of Russian or Chinese state-
owned enterprises. The NRC currently provides general licenses for imports of nuclear
material, including from Russia and China. The Russian state-owned enterprise, TVEL, began
a project in 2008 to develop replacement fuel for U.S.-origin reactors operating in the United
States. While this path is not currently being pursued, TVEL could develop such replacement
fuel in the near future. If this occurs, the Working Group supports swift action, via Executive
Order to limit or ban the import of nuclear fuel fabricated in Russia or China, on national
security grounds, in so far as fuel imports adversely impact the physical and economic
security of the United States.
Fund the R&D for domestic origin commercial fuel replacements for international sale
for use in foreign-origin reactors, including Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF): In the global
export market, U.S. nuclear companies have largely been precluded from selling products
or services to reactors of foreign origin. To change this paradigm, the Working Group
supports the establishment of a program to provide domestic-origin replacement fuel for
foreign- origin reactors in international markets, especially in markets where U.S. allies and
partner nations are solely reliant on adversarial state-owned nuclear corporations for supply.
By establishing a new foreign fuel replacement program, which will be informed by the
outcomes of the ATF program, the United States will be well-positioned to provide world-
leading ATF replacement fuels for foreign-origin reactors in the future.