The antidumping case against Russia in the early 1990s was the opening salvo in the war for global access to the U.S. enrichment market. A decade later, as USEC succeeded in getting duties applied to imports from Europe, the U.S. is now the most restricted SWU market in the world. U.S. utilities' choices for enrichment supply have dwindled to the point that USEC maintains a near-monopoly for new business. Unlike uranium supply consolidation, which has had little effect on prices to date, artificial barriers in the enrichment market have caused an immediate 30% boost in the cost of enrichment for U.S. utilities. And because of the size of the U.S. market, these barriers are already having repercussions for buyers throughout Europe and Asia.

The Ux Consulting Company, in association with Global Fuel Solutions, has developed a comprehensive report that examines the background of the protectionist actions against Russian and European suppliers, as well as the effects these actions are having on the worldwide enrichment market. It describes the duty structure in detail, along with the possible appeals and challenges that could overturn or modify the European trade case. It also examines the possible outcomes of the expiration of the Russian suspension agreement in 2004.

The report analyzes the enrichment markets by region and discusses the likely short-term and longer-term ramifications for buyers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. It also evaluates the status and likelihood of new enrichment facilities being built in the U.S. Some of the critical questions the report addresses include:

• How will the European enrichers respond to this protectionist action, and how will it affect their sales strategy in Asia and Europe? Will the Cogema duties survive beyond this year, and what will be the impact on SWU prices in the various regions?
  
  
• Are the higher duties against French EUP actually a boon to Urenco's efforts to build new centrifuge capacity in the U.S.? What can U.S. utilities do, if anything, to promote greater choice in enrichment supplies in the near and longer term?
  
  
• What effect will the suspension agreement expiration have on Russia's prospects for direct access to U.S. buyers? How is USEC using its influence in Washington to try to gain exclusive control over additional Russian commercial SWU for the U.S. market?
  
  
• Will USEC be able to take advantage of reduced competition to demonstrate that it has a viable long-term strategy as a global enrichment supplier?
  

• Enrichment Suppliers -- that are deliberating various strategies to maximize revenue and market share in a distorted market.
  
  
• U.S. Buyers -- that need to assess their options in a near-monopoly market.
  
  
• Non-U.S. Buyers -- that need to know how restrictions in the U.S. can improve their negotiations with primary enrichers.