With profound national security, economic, and foreign policy interests at stake, the United States must prioritize civilian nuclear energy as a strategic export and a central pillar of American leadership in the global energy market. Nuclear projects represent multi-billion-dollar investments that support American jobs, strengthen supply chains, and advance U.S. leadership abroad. As global demand for clean, reliable energy grows, nuclear energy cooperation has become a powerful tool of diplomacy, economic statecraft, and international partnership.
At the same time, state-backed competitors such as Russia and China are aggressively expanding their presence in the global nuclear market, often supported by coordinated government financing, diplomacy, and industrial policy. If the United States is to compete and lead, the federal government must continue to clearly signal its commitment to supporting American nuclear exports and strengthening the commercial success of U.S. technologies abroad. This requires strong coordination across agencies and a sustained focus on helping American companies capture a greater share of the rapidly expanding global nuclear market.
To level the playing field for American companies, the United States should strengthen the ability of federal agencies, including the Export-Import Bank and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, to provide robust, globally competitive financing and investment tools. These resources are essential to ensuring that partner countries have viable options to deploy American nuclear technology and benefit from the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation.
Because nuclear technology carries unique strategic and security considerations, the United States maintains export controls that promote the safe, secure, and responsible development of nuclear programs worldwide. As more countries seek to adopt nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand and strengthen their energy security, the U.S. should modernize its trade control framework to maintain strong safeguards while providing timely, predictable pathways for international cooperation and nuclear exports.
New nuclear technologies offer significant potential to deliver affordable, reliable, and clean electricity around the world. However, American companies cannot effectively compete globally until these technologies are successfully deployed at home. To maintain U.S. leadership in the global nuclear market, the federal government should work closely with industry to accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors domestically and demonstrate the next generation of American nuclear innovation.