Column: Nuclear revival puts uranium back in the critical spotlight
The resurgence of nuclear power means the world is going to need a lot more uranium and supply is already struggling to match demand.
The European Union is proposing a phased ban on imports of Russian aluminum as part of a broad sanctions package ahead of the third anniversary of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
The package — which has been circulated among member states this week — also proposes sanctions that would cut more banks off from the SWIFT banking system, and actions targeting more than 70 dark-fleet vessels involved in shipping Russian oil, the people said.
The sanctions package would allow European buyers to import 275,000 metric tons of the Russian metal under a quota system for a one-year period, before a full ban comes into effect, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. The import volume quotas would be managed by member states and the EU’s executive arm, the document says. The plans will require backing from all member states, and could change before they’re formally proposed to members, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
The EU imported about 320,000 tons of unwrought aluminum from Russia in the first 11 months of 2024, accounting for 6% of total imports, according to UN Comtrade data. Meanwhile, shipments to China have risen sharply.
There have been calls for the EU to ban Russian aluminum ever since the invasion of Ukraine, and Russia’s shipments to the bloc have fallen steadily as manufacturers have sought out alternative suppliers. But some buyers and member states have resisted such measures up to now, on the grounds that some key products will be hard to replace in full.
It’s not a given that the EU will agree on the package, which would be the 16th against Russia. Hungary has been increasingly resistant to additional penalties on Moscow.
The EU struggled to complete a routine six-month renewal of its Russia sanctions regime this week, with Budapest lifting its block on the step only days before the expiration date.
But pressure to enact tougher measures on Russia’s metals sector has grown in recent months. The US and the UK imposed a ban on trading Russian metals on the London Metal Exchange last year, in a move that initially sparked wild price swings on the exchange and accelerated a reordering of global trade flows.
The EU had previously weighed adding LNG to the proposals but that’s not in the current proposals and is very likely to be addressed through a roadmap to phase out the commodity, Bloomberg previously reported.
Elsewhere, the EU is proposing to prohibit the temporary storage of Russian oil inside the bloc, extend restrictions on Russian aircraft and Russian-controlled ones, as well as ban transactions with an extensive list of Russian ports and airports that are used for transferring weapons and banned parts needed to make them. That proposal includes exemptions for transfers relating to energy and emergencies.
Other proposals include restrictions on three Russian-controlled banks abroad as well as entities outside the country that use Moscow’s SWIFT-equivalent system for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS)
The bloc is also proposing restrictions on more software, hardware and other technologies used in weapons systems as well as dozens of companies, including many firms in China, Turkey and other countries that have helped Moscow get around the EU’s measures.
Separately, the EU also this week proposed imposing tariffs on the remaining agricultural products coming from Russia and Belarus that aren’t already facing duties, as well as some nitrogen-based fertilizers.
(By Ewa Krukowska, Alberto Nardelli and Mark Burton)
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