We should make it easier for American nuclear energy companies to do business abroad.
Yes, many people look at nuclear power and think Chernobyl-style disasters and radioactive wastelands. But the reality is almost the exact opposite. Today, nuclear power is very safe and very clean.
Yes, some regulations are obviously necessary when dealing with nuclear issues. But the present situation is one in which the costs of compliance put the U.S. nuclear industry, which has the most competence, experience, and safeguard standards, at a competitive disadvantage to otherwise inferior Chinese and Russian nuclear industries. Making it easier for the nuclear industry to do its business absent an endless barrage of regulations is compatible with safety.
So what should be done?
Well, the Trump administration’s Nuclear Fuel Working Group recently presented a number of proposals. Some ideas are better than others. The call for establishing a $150 million uranium reserve, for example, is a boondoggle that would transfer taxpayer money to nuclear producers for no good reason. The suggestion of increased Export-Import Bank support for the nuclear industry should also be a non-starter. As Tim Carney has convincingly argued for years, that bank is a cronyism factory.
Other ideas are much better. Reducing and simplifying regulations would reduce compliance costs, enabling easier and cheaper uranium extraction on American soil. Increased government investment grants for nuclear research would also help the U.S. nuclear industry outshine foreign competitors in its long-term offerings to the world. As a peripheral point, it might also help us understand why UFOs like nuclear plants!
Regardless, there are very good reasons to make it easier for the nuclear industry to ply its trade.
For one, expanding America’s foreign nuclear footprint will mitigate the countermanding influence of Russian and Chinese interests. As the working group’s report notes, “Russia is advancing its economic and foreign policy influence around the world with $133 billion in foreign orders for reactors, with plans to underwrite the construction of more than 50 reactors in 19 countries.” China is doing much the same. These developments provide critical revenue streams for both Beijing and Moscow while tying other nations into long-term political relationships with these top American adversaries.
This dynamic could go the other way. In India, for example, the United States has a huge opportunity to support that nation’s nuclear needs and further consolidate a much-needed partnership between our two nations.
There’s also the benefit that nuclear industry would bring in the fight against man-influenced climate change. Considering that nuclear power is far cleaner than coal, gas, and oil energy, we should be taking more advantage of efforts that expand nuclear usage. Again, that shouldn’t mean big government subsidies. It should simply mean getting government out of its current blocking position and into a facilitation role. The added advantage of nuclear power, here, is its alternative to economy-stifling carbon regulations.
We have relatively easy means of enabling the U.S. nuclear industry to do more business while making the world cleaner and safer. Let’s do it.
