Uranium Enrichment: AREVA and USEC Sign Amicable Agreement

Regulatory News:

AREVA (Paris:CEI) and USEC Inc. have signed an agreement to end their 7-year litigation concerning French enrichment services in the USA ("Trade case”), as well as USEC’s dumping allegations, which AREVA had always denied.

The agreement will see AREVA reclaim a sizeable portion of the provisional customs duties it paid in the USA as part of the claim, and all ongoing administrative and legal procedures on the matter shall be dropped.

This ends all procedures taken since 2001 as part of the anti-dumping order introduced by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2002, aimed at French imports of slightly-enriched uranium. The order shall remain in force until its next reappraisal by U.S. authorities in 2012. In addition, USEC will supply AREVA with enrichment services in 2009 and 2010.

François-Xavier Rouxel, Executive VP of AREVA’s Enrichment business unit, called the agreement "excellent for both companies and for our U.S. customers”.

AREVA is a major player in the provision of enrichment services for U.S. utilities. The group has filed a license application to build an enrichment facility in Idaho, based on the new Georges Besse II plant being finalized on the Tricastin site in France. The Idaho project represents an investment of more than $2 billion for AREVA, and will enable the group to have a plant closer to its U.S. customers as of 2014.

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All over the world, AREVA provides its customers with solutions for carbon-free power generation and electricity transmission. With its knowledge and expertise in these fields, the group has a leading role to play in meeting the world’s energy needs.

Ranked first in the global nuclear power industry, AREVA's unique integrated offering covers every stage of the fuel cycle, reactor design and construction, and related services.

In addition, the group is developing a portfolio of operations in renewable energies. AREVA is also a world leader in electricity transmission and distribution and offers its customers a complete range of solutions for greater grid stability and energy efficiency.

Sustainable development is a core component of the group’s industrial strategy. Its 75,000 employees work every day to make AREVA a responsible industrial player that is helping to supply ever cleaner, safer and more economical energy to the greatest number of people.