How much Russian uranium has the US purchased in 2024?
Executive summary
Multiple datasets and secondary reports disagree in part, but trade-data-based reporting shows that U.S. purchases of Russian enriched uranium fell sharply in 2024 to roughly the mid-hundreds of metric tons: Comtrade-derived reporting puts enriched-U purchases at about 335 tonnes (worth ~$624 million) for the year, while U.S. industry and government statistics use different weightings and categories that can produce different-looking totals; legal changes in 2024 complicated flows by banning routine imports from August 2024 while allowing waivers [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the headline numbers say: Comtrade and investigative outlets
Analysts using UN Comtrade customs data reported that U.S. purchases of Russian enriched uranium "nearly halved" in 2024 to about 335 tonnes of enriched uranium product (EUP) valued at approximately $624 million, and that the first quarter alone accounted for roughly 117 tonnes worth $256 million — figures quoted in multiple outlets that drew directly on Comtrade (Bellona and related reporting) [1] [2].
2. Why other official tallies look different: units, categories and timing
U.S. government and industry statistics report uranium in different units (pounds of U3O8 equivalent, separative work units, or tonnes of "tU") and aggregate multiple stages of the fuel cycle, so a figure expressed as "4% Russian-origin" of total deliveries in 2024 (from a U.S. deliveries total of 55.9 million pounds U3O8e) can imply a materially different mass than the Comtrade enriched-product number — the apparent contradiction stems from differing definitions (EIA/World Nuclear News reporting) and the fact that enriched uranium product (EUP) and uranium concentrate (U3O8) are not the same commodity in trade statistics [5] [4].
3. The legal and political context that shaped 2024 imports
Congress passed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act, which the administration implemented in mid‑2024: the law bans imports of unirradiated low‑enriched uranium (LEU) beginning August 13, 2024, but it explicitly allows the Department of Energy to grant waivers through January 1, 2028 — a framework that left room for continued imports under special permits and therefore kept Russian supplies flowing in 2024 despite the statutory ban [3] [4].
4. Supply chain behavior and real-world trade flows in 2024
Even before the formal ban took effect, the U.S. and its utilities adjusted buying patterns: some buyers appear to have stockpiled earlier, shipments from Russia showed long intervals in 2024 (three to four months), and U.S. firms such as Centrus sought DOE permissions to continue purchases — all consistent with Comtrade showing a drop to ~335 tonnes while other datasets record residual Russian-origin material in U.S. deliveries [1] [6] [2] [7].
5. Reconciling the bottom line and the reporting limits
The most direct, trade-data-based answer is that Comtrade-derived reporting identifies about 335 tonnes of Russian enriched uranium imported by the U.S. in 2024 (valued at about $624 million), but official U.S. energy statistics use different metrics and report Russian-origin shares differently (for example, a 4% share of total deliveries in one EIA-derived summary), so any single number needs the context of units and product definition to be meaningful; available sources do not provide a single reconciled, government‑certified tonnage that combines every reporting convention, and the legal waiver regime means some Russian-origin material continued to move into the U.S. after August 2024 [1] [5] [3] [4] [2].