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Donald Trump made this claim in his February 16, 2017, press conference. Did Hillary Clinton give Russia 20% of the US's uranium? What is the source for this claim?

Transcript

Now tomorrow, you’ll say “Donald Trump wants to get along with Russia, this is terrible.” It’s not terrible. It’s good. We had Hillary Clinton try and do a reset. We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20 percent of the uranium in our country. You know what uranium is, right? This thing called nuclear weapons like lots of things are done with uranium including some bad things.

jwodder
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ford prefect
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4 Answers4

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This claim comes from Peter Schweizer's book Clinton Cash.

The Washington Post notes that the details mentioned above are correct:

The deal gave Russia control of about 20 percent of U.S. uranium extraction capacity, according to a 2010 CNN article about the deal. In other words, Russia has rights to the uranium extracted at those sites, which represents 20 percent of the U.S. uranium production capacity. (emphasis mine)

However, tying it to Clinton is misleading at best. The evidence seems to rest on two facts:

  1. A Canadian businessman (as noted above) that was instrumental in the sale was also a Clinton donor.
  2. The State Department was 1 of 9 agencies surveying the deal.

Details about the deal are not very available, but the State Department did not have the authority to stop the deal. Only the President could, according to the Post.

Clinton has denied that she was involved, and the consensus seems to be that the Secretary would mostly likely not be involved in the details.

There were some concerns raised, but they didn't go to her: Some Republican lawmakers in 2010 did raise concerns about the deal — but they sent their letter to then-Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. (Treasury chairs the CFIUS.) Final approval was given by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which noted that the mines would remain under the control of U.S. subsidiaries.

And, as @jeffronicus mentions above, the deal gave the Russian company the right to the profits from the uranium, but not to acquire the uranium itself.

So, in the absence of hard facts, it looks like her agency was one of many involved in approving the deal to sell extraction rights, but that she probably was not involved. In any case, she was not the deciding vote on the review process. You could argue that maybe she could have stopped it, but to answer the question: she was not in the position to "give" anyone anything.

Community
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rougon
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    This answer could be enhanced with the fact mention in the comment to the other answer that while the Russians "own" the uranium in that they derived the economic benefit from it, they don't have the right to export it from the US. – antlersoft Feb 16 '17 at 21:45
  • This [New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0) (the one that @Alonzo cites) appears to mention other possible reasons and suspicions, such as the timing of donations, hiding of donations, and payment for a speech by Bill Clinton in Moscow – Ogre Psalm33 Feb 17 '17 at 03:57
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    Also, if the Washington Post article has its facts correct, neither Clinton nor anyone else GAVE the Russians anything. They bought the company, fair and square. Your basic market economy at work, no? – jamesqf Feb 17 '17 at 04:56
  • @OgrePsalm33 it also concludes that "Whether the donations played any role in the approval of the uranium deal is unknown." Given that she could not have possibly solely approved it and there is no evidence to say she was even involved, I wouldn't find the suspicions particularly relevant to the question. – rougon Feb 17 '17 at 12:38
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    So, what did we get in return for all of this uranium? – cbmeeks Feb 17 '17 at 13:48
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    @cbmeeks No uranium was sold, *rights to economically exploit uranium* was sold. By a Canadian company, to a Russian company. But the uranium remains in the US, and cannot (legally) be removed from the US. We’re just now paying a Russian company to extract it for us, instead of paying a Canadian company to do that. Which doesn’t really change anything for us; we neither get nor lose anything, we’re just an interested observer on this transaction. Or, alternatively, whether it’s a Canadian or a Russian company, the deal provides *us* with uranium—specifically, uranium that’s usable, not buried. – KRyan Feb 17 '17 at 14:19
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    In other words, the answer to the specific claim being made is that **no, neither Clinton nor anybody else gave Russia any amount of uranium**. The United States gave Russia access to the profits from 20% of its uranium production capacity, which is very different and which doesn't give _any actual uranium_ to Russia. – aroth Feb 17 '17 at 15:03
  • Seems like an odd deal to say the least. Seems to me that the US should have paid a US company to dig the uranium up and then the US would keep all the profits and taxes. But then again, I'm a simple guy. – cbmeeks Feb 17 '17 at 15:35
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    It looks like it was a pretty mainstream deal, actually. It's not like they're hiring Russian workers to come and extract it in the US. – rougon Feb 17 '17 at 15:48
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    @arot: Even the United States didn't GIVE anybody anything. Though I'm not claiming to be an expert in mining law, my understanding is that mineral rights are basically private property, and those rights were SOLD along with the Canadian company that owned them. – jamesqf Feb 17 '17 at 18:13
  • @cbmeeks I agree it seems weird, and I’m sure that it seeming weird is why some congresspeople wanted to take a second look at it, but it’s ultimately not nearly the problem that actually *giving away uranium* would be. My guess is that originally it was sold to the Canadian firm because their bid was better and hey, we like Canada, and then when the Canadian firm wanted to sell it to the Russian firm, it was kind of awkward but ultimately we weren’t losing anything we hadn’t already sold to the Canadian firm so it was OK? – KRyan Feb 19 '17 at 17:46
  • @cbmeeks Most likely, it was simply cheaper. Just because a company is local doesn't make it better; if you choose a company *because* it is local, you are paying for the priviledge. In any case, "keep all the profits and taxes" is a very protectionist view of the markets - are you going to ban all imports, to avoid "american money" "flowing out" of the "US economy"? Been there, done that :P – Luaan Feb 21 '17 at 09:23
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Politifact evaluated a number of claims from Trump's press conference, including this one.

They referred back to a campaign fact check where they rated a similar claim Mostly False:

The reference is to Russia’s nuclear power agency buying a controlling interest in a Toronto-based company. That company has mines, mills and tracts of land in Wyoming, Utah and other U.S. states equal to about 20 percent of U.S. uranium production capacity (not produced uranium).

Clinton was secretary of state at the time, but she didn’t have the power to approve or reject the deal. The State Department was only one of nine federal agencies that signed off on the deal, and only Obama had the power to veto it.

For a statement that contains only an element of truth, our rating is Mostly False.

So the kernel of truth to the claim is that 20% of the uranium production capacity of the US is now controlled by a Russian agency. The problems are that this is production, not uranium. Also, Russia doesn't "have" it. They can't export uranium from the US, so the uranium being produced in the US is still being sold in the US.

Note: while the US uranium is probably safe, Russia has more control over the Kazakhstan uranium. But that's not what Trump said. While there is a real event here, he did not describe it correctly, today or previously.

Brythan
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    I'm curious what it means to "sign off" on something that you don't have "the power to approve or reject". – jscs Feb 16 '17 at 23:40
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    @JoshCaswell, in at least some contexts -- I can't say this one -- one can sign off that one has reviewed and provided feedback on a document or process, without that feedback being in and of itself dispositive (absent actions taken by the entity consuming it). – Charles Duffy Feb 17 '17 at 00:13
  • What's the point for the Russians to buy shares in this company, if they own other Uranium mines already and aren't allowed to export Uranium from the US? –  Feb 17 '17 at 06:06
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    @DP_: Is "to make a profit" a sufficient answer? – Oddthinking Feb 17 '17 at 07:20
  • @Oddthinking To a degree. But not 100 %. If it's profits they want, there are simpler ways to achieve it, like buying a piece of real estate in Moscow (without all that hassle of various US agencies approving the deal). –  Feb 17 '17 at 07:27
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    @DP_ According to the linked Politifact article, "It made Russia’s atomic energy agency one of the world’s largest uranium producers and brought Russian President Vladimir Putin "closer to his goal of controlling much of the global uranium supply chain."" – reirab Feb 17 '17 at 07:51
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    As I said, most sources think that the point was to buy the Kazakhstan uranium supply and the US uranium just came along for the ride. Which is noteworthy because Kazakhstan produces more uranium than the US does and is a net exporter rather than a net importer. But I don't know that this is the place to get into the geopolitical implications. My point was just that there are legitimate reasons to oppose the deal. It's just that control of the *US* uranium is not one of them. – Brythan Feb 17 '17 at 14:43
  • @DP_ That's not all that simple to evaluate. Their business is nuclear energy. That's what they do, what they have experience and equipment for. Are you suggesting that all the companies in the world should start investing in real estate, rather than, say, making photocopiers? Perhaps the US market for Uranium is simply more profitable, despite the export ban (protectionism tends to do that - if you don't have a free market, margins can vary wildly even in the long term). Perhaps they're diversifying. Perhaps they're interested in the techniques, equipment and crew of the stuff they bought. – Luaan Feb 21 '17 at 09:29
  • @Luaan Are there any data on how profitable Uranium production is? –  Feb 21 '17 at 09:34
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According to a 2015 New York Times Article,

At the heart of the tale are several men, leaders of the Canadian mining industry, who have been major donors to the charitable endeavors of former President Bill Clinton and his family. Members of that group built, financed and eventually sold off to the Russians a company that would become known as Uranium One.

Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Alonzo Muncy
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    Noteworthy from the linked story: "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wrote to Mr. Barrasso assuring him that American uranium would be preserved for domestic use, regardless of who owned it. 'In order to export uranium from the United States, Uranium One Inc. or ARMZ would need to apply for and obtain a specific NRC license authorizing the export of uranium for use as reactor fuel,' the letter said." – jeffronicus Feb 16 '17 at 19:20
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    Did Clinton herself approve/sign-off on the deal, or just someone from the State Dept. while she was Secretary? If not she herself, is there evidence she was (or was not) aware of the deal? – Reinstate Monica -- notmaynard Feb 16 '17 at 19:53
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    @iamnotmaynard The [website of the Treasury Department](https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/foreign-investment/Pages/cfius-members.aspx) suggests that Clinton herself sat on the committee in question. At any rate, if the Secretary of State _wasn't_ aware of a deal involving a large percentage of the uranium production in the U.S. being sold to a company controlled by a foreign power, that would be a very big cause for concern in itself. – reirab Feb 17 '17 at 07:58
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    @iamnotmaynard The NYT (and WaPo), [linked](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html) [above](https://goo.gl/n0WmM4), quote the State Department's then-[Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs](https://www.state.gov/e/eb/leadership/index.htm), [Jose Fernandez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_W._Fernandez), (grand)parent of the [Office of Investment Affairs](https://www.state.gov/e/eb/ifd/oia/investment/), the organization involved, that Clinton "never intervened" with him on CIFIUS. – Matt Nordhoff Feb 17 '17 at 23:31
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    While this information is relevant (and many other questions mention this info), I don't see an actual answer to the question. Did Clinton "give Russia" the uranium? Or was she not personally involved at all? – Ellesedil Feb 18 '17 at 05:47
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We had Hillary Clinton give Russia 20 percent of the uranium in our country.

To the contrary, the claim 'the United States delivered lots of uranium to Russia' has it backwards!

Between 1993 to 2013, Russia sold the United States 15000 tonnes of low enriched uranium (LEU), downblended from 500 tonnes of weapons-grade high enriched uranium (HEU). This was the Megatons to Megawatts Program.

The idea of physicist Thomas Neff, the program was announced by President Bush in 1992 and signed by President Clinton in 1993. In the United States, the uranium fuel—at below market cost—generated as much as 10% of electricity for 20 years. In Russia, the program provided a bankrupt state the funding to secure and pacify weapons-grade uranium in crumbling facilities across five volatile young republics. In my opinion, superb policy.

For more information, read Richard Rhodes Twilight of the Bombs.

Colonel Panic
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    This answer does not address the *20%*. It also needs references. –  Feb 17 '17 at 11:13
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    @Jan Doggen: It does indirectly address the 20%. That is, if it was OK for the US to buy Russian uranium, why is it a problem for the Russians to buy American uranium - or rather, the mining rights for it? – jamesqf Feb 17 '17 at 18:53
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    @jamesqf: The question was not about whether it was "OK" for one party to buy another's uranium; such a question would not be on-topic here. The question was about whether Hillary Clinton "gave" Russia uranium, which this so-called "answer" completely fails to address. – jwodder Feb 18 '17 at 05:24
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    @jwodder: Most good questions raise follow-on issues like this, which should be addressed. – jamesqf Feb 18 '17 at 07:08
  • @jamesqf If you think there's something about that program that should be addressed, ask a question about it. – David Conrad Feb 18 '17 at 08:42
  • @David Conrad: Doing that would disconnect that question from this, short-circuiting any meaningful discussion. – jamesqf Feb 18 '17 at 18:16
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    @jamesqf Well, since this answer doesn't really have anything to do with this question, that would be a good thing. – David Conrad Feb 18 '17 at 18:17
  • This does not seem to answer the question, removing. – Sklivvz Feb 19 '17 at 10:07
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    This is useful for context. If Russia is selling Uranium to the USA in significant quantities from existing stockpiles it does rather imply that they do not NEED any more from the USA or elsewhere unless there is money to be made. To this end the uranium consumer is the USA and not Russia so them investing in extraction rights is more credible than them purchasing uranium. As to whether or not Hillary et.al. benefited from helping close the deal is open to debate and has a much higher likelihood of being true than the 20% of uranium leaving the USA for Russia. – KalleMP Feb 21 '17 at 09:58
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    Right, I hoped to be informative. The question concerns uranium trade between United State and Russia. I can't tell you anything about the claimed Hillary Clinton export because it appears to be a fiction. I can tell you about a real trade in the other direction. This doesn't disprove the claim but demonstrates how silly it is. Certainly it wouldn't make sense to export a fungible commodity while importing it from the same country. Uranium is not simple to transport. – Colonel Panic Feb 21 '17 at 12:10