Yunus’ ‘US deal’ stands in the way of Bangladesh’s nuclear power future

Special Correspondent

Dhaka, April 29, 2026 – After the start of fuel loading for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the biggest obstacle to the Bangladesh government’s plans to build more nuclear power plants in the future will be the US-Bangladesh Agreement on Reciprocal Trade imposed by Yunus. The same fear will exist in the procurement of fresh uranium as fuel for the existing Rooppur project.

Article 4.3 of the US trade agreement clearly states that,

“Bangladesh will not be able to purchase nuclear reactors, fuel rods or enriched uranium from any country
if that country “jeopardises essential US interests.”

Although no country is directly named, policymakers and experts agree that the clause is aimed squarely at Russia. Also, the lack of a specific country name leaves the door open to any objections from the United States.

Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant, Rooppur, is being built with Russian funding and technical assistance from Rosatom, and if any new units are added to Rooppur in the future, or if the stockpile runs out, the reactor, fuel rods, and uranium will have to be procured from Russia. But under the terms of the new US trade agreement, such transactions could lead to the US imposing a 35-37% tariff on Bangladesh and a ban on exports of goods from Bangladesh to the US.

In Tamil Nadu, India, with the technical assistance of the same Russian company Rosatom, the work of the 1st and 2nd units of the nuclear power plant began in 2002. Later, the agreement was extended to include the 3rd and 4th and 5th and 6th nuclear reactors in the project. This power plant, which started with a 1000 MW unit, has produced such cheap and economical electricity that 5 more units were added within 15-20 years, bringing the current capacity of the project to 6000 MW. But in the case of Bangladesh, this “US trade agreement” will become a major obstacle to expanding the Rooppur project in the future.

Energy expert Professor M. Tamim said,

“If the import of uranium or fuel rods from Russia stops due to the agreement,
it will become difficult to operate the Rooppur plant, let alone new nuclear projects in the future.”

This agreement could complicate future nuclear cooperation not only with Russia but also with China, as the United States considers China and Russia to be “non-market economies.”

Challenges for Bangladesh

A reliable source of fresh nuclear fuel (uranium) supply from Russia as fuel for Rooppur. The first batch of fresh nuclear fuel or uranium from Russia arrived in Bangladesh on September 29, 2023, the second on October 6, the third on October 13, and the fourth on October 20. According to the agreement between Bangladesh and Russia, the fuel price will not be paid for 3 years after the start of electricity production at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project. After three years, Bangladesh will purchase fresh uranium with its own funds, and Russia will supply that uranium.

The Rooppur project has two VVER-1200 units with a total capacity of 2,400 MW. Fuel storage per unit:

• Initial Core (first load) of the first unit:
  163 fuel assemblies are being loaded (from April 2026).
  This contains a total of about 87 tons of UO₂ (uranium dioxide).
• For the second unit:
  The same amount (about 87 tons) of uranium has been kept ready.

The annual refueling requirements for these two units at Rooppur are estimated to be 20–25 tons of enriched uranium per year for one unit and approximately 40–50 tons of uranium per year for two units. Pursuant to Article 4.3 of the US Trade Agreement, the future supply of uranium as fuel for the Rooppur project is uncertain.

Obstacles to procurement of energy from alternative sources or construction of projects

Purchasing nuclear plant technology and fuel from Western countries is much more expensive and comes with strict conditions. If the current US trade deal makes it difficult to procure nuclear technology and uranium from relatively cheap and flexible sources like Russia or China, Bangladesh may have to turn to Western countries as an alternative. However, experts say that getting technology and fuel from countries like the US, France and Canada would be much more expensive and the conditions are much stricter and more complicated.

The cost of technology and reactors in Western countries is 40% to 70% higher than in Russia. Compared to the VVER-1200 technology reactor like Rooppur, the French EPR or the US AP1000 technology is much more expensive. In addition, Western countries impose strict security and non-proliferation conditions on the procurement of uranium fuel. These include:

• Additional monitoring and audits by the IAEA
• Western countries’ approval of energy use, conservation and waste management
• Guaranteed no possibility of military use under any circumstances
• Long-term contracts link fuel prices to market prices, which can destabilize and expose fuel sources to uncertainty.

Western countries are generally reluctant to take responsibility for the complete fuel cycle of nuclear reactors. That is, Bangladesh can only buy the reactors, but they will not be responsible for reprocessing the used fuel or long-term storage. This will create complications with waste management and long-term energy security. In addition, adopting Western technology will also require Bangladesh to spend a lot on training, technology transfer and localization, which is much more expensive than the agreement with Russia.

Energy experts believe that if Bangladesh is forced to switch to Western sources, the cost of generating electricity per megawatt will increase significantly and the project implementation time will also be prolonged. For this reason, this clause of the US trade agreement is considered the biggest strategic obstacle to Bangladesh’s future nuclear power program.

The US trade deal has severely limited Bangladesh’s energy security and future plans for the nuclear sector. The government must now tread diplomatically very carefully to maintain US trade benefits while maintaining nuclear energy security. The issue has now become a topic of much discussion among energy experts and policymakers.