The FTC’s Enforcement of “Made in USA” is Notoriously Weak. It’s Time to Change That.
We cover a lot of ground here at the Alliance for American Manufacturing — Trade! Infrastructure! Tom Cruise! — but there’s nothing that gets us more excited than learning about an American-made product. Whether it’s a small piece of jewelry or a big piece of steel, we love highlighting the amazing workers and companies who manufacture their products in the United States.
After all, a lot of hard work — and often extra expense — goes into that “Made in USA” label. U.S. companies and workers must take care to ensure that “all or virtually all” of their products are made in the United States.
When something is labeled as “Made in USA,” many consumers recognize the effort that is behind it, along with the millions of jobs that American-made products support. The label can be a deciding factor when someone is deciding on what product to buy.
Made in USA means something.
And while nothing gets us more excited than a Made in USA product, nothing gets us more fired up than when a company knowingly mislabels its product as Made in USA. What’s worse is that these cheaters have been getting away with it.
It happens more than you think. In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) caught some pretty brazen Made in USA cheats:
- One company sold military-themed backpacks – including on military bases! – with an “American-made” label. The FTC found that the vast majority of that company’s products were made in China or Mexico.
- Another company made hockey pucks, and even positioned itself as “the all-American alternative to imported pucks.” All of the company’s pucks were imported from China.
- A direct-to-consumer mattress firm advertised its mattresses as assembled in the United States. The mattresses were made in China.
But in all three of these blatant cases of Made in USA cheating, the FTC politely asked these bad actors to stop this deceitful behavior.
The cheaters paid zero fines — they kept every penny they made deliberately deceiving consumers. No notices to consumers were issued. The companies didn’t even have to admit any wrongdoing!
What’s the point in even having a strong “Made in USA” standard if it isn’t enforced?
But that brings us to today. The FTC held a workshop at its D.C. headquarters examining “Made in USA,” and our own President Scott Paul took part to urge the agency to strengthen its enforcement mechanisms, along with other experts like Justin Brookman from Consumer Reports and Bonnie Patten from Truth in Advertising, which has chronicled several cases of Made in USA mislabeling.
Now is your chance to weigh in: The FTC is accepting public comments through Oct. 11, and you can take part by signing our petition here!
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