On the Brink: Transatlantic Nuclear Exports at Risk

Recent energy crises, reindustrialization pressures, and ambitious clean energy goals have accelerated Europe’s consideration of nuclear energy, creating new possibilities for US-European civil nuclear trade and cooperation. 

This makes the transatlantic relationship pivotal to the deployment of innovative reactor technologies and the global resurgence of nuclear energy. 

Through that lens, Third Way conducted extensive research and expert interviews with the private sector, NGO community, and policymakers to assess the benefits and hurdles governments and industry may face.

Our findings raised grave concerns.

The overarching conclusion of our research is that Trump Administration policies have blunted every major competitive edge that the US has to carve out a transatlantic nuclear energy market.

We found that:

• The US is failing to capitalize on its technological lead.
• The deteriorating US-European relationship erodes American competitiveness. 
• President Trump’s tariffs hinder cooperative solutions to financing. 
• Constrained US capacity to provide regulatory support has commercial repercussions. 

The Trump Administration’s whiplashing tariff strategy, “energy dominance” slogans, hostility towards NATO and Ukraine, and meddling in EU member state politics have all intensified calls by Europeans to meet their energy needs with European technology. And US developers, embroiled in the caustic politics, are watching Europe’s willingness to partner on fleet-scale buildouts dwindle.

To reestablish a strong US position in European markets and protect US nuclear progress, we recommend a slate of policy actions along the following lines: 

• Consolidate and extend America’s technological lead in commercializing a range of new and innovative reactor designs.
• Stabilize the US-Europe security and economic relationship, and build on existing agreements to negotiate detailed terms for nuclear trade.
• Align and coordinate financing to support scaled deployment across transatlantic markets, leveraging industrial integration and shared content.
• Strengthen US capabilities to foster international cooperation in addressing shared regulatory, workforce, and other constraints.

Read On the Brink: Transatlantic Nuclear Exports at Risk