As the US-Canada trade war drags into its second month, Trail-based business KC Recycling is bracing for the impact of Canada’s next set of counter-tariffs.
KC Recycling is the leading recycler of battery plastic and metal in the Pacific Northwest, recycling 400,000 tonnes of used batteries per year.
Last week, the federal government imposed its first round of counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of American goods, while also issuing a notice of intent to implement a second round on $125 billion in additional goods.
The second round includes a 25 per cent tariff on electrical and electronic waste and scrap, which KC Recycling owner Pete Stamper says is a “big risk” for his business.
KC Recycling imports 50 per cent of its product from the US, with the other half sourced domestically.
Stamper says Canada has favourable export laws that allow for the easy export of most Canadian batteries; however, sourcing the batteries from the US would become 25 per cent more expensive if the counter-tariffs are implemented.
“We source the batteries we need from the US in order to manufacture that metal and plastic. Canada currently intends to implement a tariff on those batteries coming across the border from the United States, and that would be very detrimental for our business. It would be nearly impossible to source those batteries. Other buyers would have an advantage over us.” said Stamper.
Stamper says his company could be sustainable without the US as a trading partner, but that could only happen if the provincial and federal governments do more to support domestic recycling.
“We have to get access to Canadian batteries. The laws in Canada allow—and even support—the export of batteries to be recycled overseas instead of recycling them domestically. We’re actively working with our elected officials in both Ottawa and Victoria to support domestic recycling, and we’re hoping to see some action from them.” said Stamper.
He adds that while KC Recycling does have some Asian buyers for its recycled metal and plastics, the cost to move product from Trail to Asia is substantially higher than moving it into the US.
Environmental Impact
KC Recycling is the only operation of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, receiving about 50 truckloads of used batteries from across Western North America per day.
In 1980, Stamper says there were about 60 battery recycling facilities between the US and Canada, but now there are only 13.
The reason for this reduction is the hazardous nature of the work, which requires expertise in metal recycling—something available in Trail.
Stamper says that if there isn’t enough capacity to process used batteries for recycling in Canada, they could end up going to Asian markets, which may not have the same environmental standards and practices that KC Recycling follows.
“If none of those facilities are operating to the same standards as the ones in the U.S. and Canada—certainly not as state-of-the-art as KC Recycling in terms of environmental practices—I don’t think any of us in Canada would feel good knowing that our batteries were being loaded onto ships and sent to unknown processors in Asia.” said Stamper.
Even before the trade dispute with the US began, Stamper was advocating for elected officials to stop the illegal export of Canadian batteries to Asia in order to keep valuable metals and jobs in Canada.
“What’s happening today is that a handful of fly-by-night brokers operating in the Lower Mainland act as intermediaries—buying up truckloads of batteries, loading them into containers, and shipping them off to somewhere in Asia. Some of those places don’t recycle batteries to the same standard.” said Stamper.
Stamper says these “fly-by-night brokers” don’t hold the correct permits, and many have been able to dodge enforcement action from provincial and federal governments. He hopes the trade dispute has provided a “wonderful opportunity” to draw attention from elected officials to solve this problem.
“I think right now, given the urgency of getting Canadians to do business within Canada, we’re getting attention from officials who are trying to close those loopholes and either get those companies up to the right standards or shut them down.”
Next Steps
Stamper has submitted feedback to Ottawa on the potential impacts of the next round of counter-tariffs. He has also engaged with several Members of Parliament who have been working to convince the federal government to remove batteries from the retaliatory tariff list.
While he hopes to see action, he’s concerned by the lack of it.
“I’ve yet to see any action, and that is a concern for me. I know policy shifts can be slow and difficult, but we need to be agile at this time. Our country needs to be agile. Our companies need to be agile. And we need to see some action.” said Stamper.
He says the proroguing of Parliament in January has prevented local MPs from working in Ottawa to implement policies that protect Canadian businesses, but he’s optimistic that will change once Parliament resumes.
“These are small policy changes that can be made very quickly—both in terms of encouraging Canadian businesses to recycle their batteries in Canada and addressing the issue of American batteries being included on the list. I know they have a long list of things to work through, but they need to be in the same room working together as quickly as possible. I’m hopeful that when they do, we’ll see some action.”
While he believes there are areas where retaliatory tariffs are useful, there are others where they can cause more harm than good.
In the case of used batteries, Stamper says the impact will be the latter—but he’s confident that the government can find alternative areas where tariffs would be more useful instead.
Be the first to know! Don’t miss out on breaking news and daily updates in your area. Sign up to MyKootenayNow News Alerts.
