Stone Canyon, the "Buy America" Provisions and Canada

One of the issues facing Stone Canyon in the U.S. is the "Buy America" provisions and how that will lead it to shift operations to maintain its U.S. market share. There is a possibility that road salt imported to New York State from outside the U.S. could be "halted" by the State's new Buy American Salt Act. That would mean Stone Canyon will have to find other markets for its Chilean salt to replace those it stands to lose in New York. Every year New York City alone buys over 300,000 tons of salt for use on its streets in the winter, with most of it coming from Chile.

On December 22, 2022, when the Governor of the State of New York signed the Buy American Salt Act into law, the State's website emphasized that "New York has at least two salt mines that provide rock salt for road de-icing and offer good-paying jobs." This refers to one mine owned by U.S. Salt, which is said to be independent of any of the major salt monopolies, while the other is owned by agri-monopoly Cargill, said to be a "family-run business." A news report on the Act indicates, however, that exemptions are possible "if the pricing for domestic salt is higher than international prices and if there isn't enough inventory in the local mines."[1]

In Canada, Stone Canyon is in direct and heated competition for control of the salt market with Kansas-based Compass Minerals which owns the Goderich mine, the biggest rock salt mine in the world. 

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This article was published in

Number 39 - July 24, 2023

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10396.HTM

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca