05.04.2007 // Interfax

Rosatom is satisfied with the course of the talks with the US for lifting the restrictions on Russian uranium products on the American market

Rosatom is satisfied with the course of the talks with the US for lifting the restrictions on Russian uranium products on the American market, the spokesman of Rosatom Sergey Novikov said after the meeting of the head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko with US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.

«Today’s meeting has confirmed that we are moving in a positive direction,» Kiriyenko said about the meeting.

«We confirmed that a group of experts have done much in this direction and in the next few months will report to us on their work,» Kiriyeko said.

Presently, the US applies a 112% anti-dumping duty to Russian uranium products on its market. The duty was imposed in the 1990s. Last year the US and Russia started active negotiations for lifting the tax.

«I think that we will be able to find a mutually acceptable solution,» says Kiriyenko. He believes that US energy companies should have guarantees of stable development — «a chance to make long-term contracts, to have a choice and not to depend on one supplier.» «There should be competition on the market and we are ready to take part in it.»

«We support the idea of negotiating such decisions (lifting of the restrictions — edit.). Our cooperation should be based on mutual confidence. Court decisions help to solve commercial problems but they do not encourage confidence,» Kiriyenko said.

The anti-dumping duty does not cover the Russian-American HEU-LEU agreement expiring in 2013. Presently, almost 50% of the nuclear fuel used by the US NPPs is supplied by Russia under the agreement.

As was reported earlier, the US Energy Department believes that it is necessary to stop the agreement and to ensure the competitiveness of US uranium enrichment companies, while Russia, according to Kiriyenko, is ready to reduce its presence on the American nuclear market to 25% so as to insure it against possible negative effects of the Russian uranium supplies.