US Studies Expiring Duties on Russian Uranium Sales for Possible Extension

Anti-dumping duties on imports of uranium from Russia are being examined to determine whether penalties should be continued to protect domestic US producers, the International Trade Commission (USITC) announced in a press release on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The examination centered on a provision in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) requiring that anti-dumping duties expire after five years "unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC" determine that the domestic US uranium industry would suffer as a result.

"The Commission will conduct an expedited review to determine whether termination… would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time" to domestic US uranium producers, the release stated.

The United States once led the world in uranium production. However, the domestic uranium industry has lost half its workforce in the past five year amid a 32 percent decline in 2015 and an additional 13 percent in 2016, according to the Uranium Producers of America trade association.