Should Namibia Be Worried Over President Trump’s Revived Interest in Uranium?

About 18 months ago, the United States Secretary of Commerce released its report on an investigation titled “The effect of uranium Imports on the National Security and Establishment of the United States Nuclear Fuel Working Group.”

In its report, it advised the government and military to immediately seize all agreements and trade deals with Namibia and other countries in the import of Uranium.

According to the report, a continued import of the product at such a large quantity threatens the national security of the United States of America as defined under section 232 of the Act.

For those who know President Donald Trump well, you would agree that he does not take issues with national security lightly. Just recently, he blacklisted Chinese mobile technology company, Huawei, saying the increase in their products in the United States threatens its national security.

Surprisingly, President Donald Trump released a statement noting that importing uranium from countries like Namibia does not threaten America’s national security. He further said he would disagree with the United States Department of Commerce on the report and result of its investigation.

“Currently, the United States imports approximately 93 percent of its commercial uranium, compared to 85.8 percent in 2009. The Secretary found that this figure is because of increased production by foreign state-owned enterprises, which have distorted global prices and made it more difficult for domestic mines to compete.

“At this time, I do not concur with the secretary’s finding that uranium imports threaten to impair the national security of the United States as defined under section 232 of the act,” the statement by President Trump said.

Uranium is used by the military to power nuclear submarines and nuclear weapons.

Namibia has a large deposit of uranium and significant uranium mines capable of providing 10% of world mining output. Its first commercial uranium mine began operating in 1976.

Why is President Trump deciding to risk the security and sovereignty of the United States of America just to have more uranium in the country?

American leaders place no other country or people over theirs, and while this is not a bad thing, we must be careful not to be used as pawns for the actualization of selfish gains.

Currently, the United States accounts for a quarter of worldwide uranium demand. In 2017, owners and operators of U.S. nuclear power reactors purchased the equivalent of about $53.90 million of uranium in and about $40.16 million worth of uranium in 2018.

Should we be worried?