Canadian uranium stocks jumped on Tuesday after Bloomberg News reported the White House is looking to reduce its dependence on Russian uranium imports in favour of sourcing more uranium domestically.

Bloomberg reported the Biden administration is pushing lawmakers to approve a US$4.3 billion plan to boost U.S. enrichment capabilities, among other steps, required to turn uranium into nuclear reactor fuel.

Among the broad-based rally in North American uranium stocks, Cameco Corp finished the Tuesday trading day up 7.77 per cent at $33.85 per share, while NexGen Energy Ltd gained 8.98 per cent to close at $6.43 per share.

U.S. Energy Department officials argued a disruption in Russian uranium supplies could impact nuclear reactors and domestic funding is urgently needed, according to a source cited by Bloomberg. Congress would have to sign off on the plan in order for it to move forward. U.S. Energy Department officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg News.

Canadian uranium producers could stand to benefit from such a plan as the country is the world’s second largest uranium producer, accounting for 13 per cent of total global production.

The United States currently has only one commercial uranium enrichment facility left, which is located in New Mexico, and owned by British-German-Dutch nuclear fuel consortium Urenco Ltd, which could make it difficult for the U.S. to ramp up domestic uranium enrichment.

Data showed 16.5 per cent of uranium imported into the U.S. and 23 per cent of enriched uranium imports were from Russia in 2020.