Senate Bill Seeks to Boost US Nuclear Exports
Two senators introduced a bill last week that could lead to the creation of a civil nuclear export strategy. The International Nuclear Energy Act, reintroduced by Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., would call on the White House to establish an office to coordinate a nuclear exports strategy with trading partners, promote regulatory harmonization and development of a standardized licensing framework, create a nuclear exports working group and more.
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The bill aims to “offset China and Russia’s growing influence on international nuclear energy development,” the senators said in a news release. Risch said the legislation will help the U.S. export “new and advanced nuclear technologies like small modular and micro-reactors to help our partners meet their energy needs,” particularly as countries look to reduce their reliance on Russian energy. Manchin said the U.S. “cannot afford to sit back and allow China and Russia to continue their dominance over the world’s nuclear energy supply chain.”
The senators first introduced the bill during the last Congress, where it was advanced by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lawmakers introduced a similar bill in 2021 that would have established an International Nuclear Reactor Export and Innovation Branch to improve U.S. export licensing efforts and increase cooperation with other countries that operate nuclear reactors (see 2202090024).