FTC Warns Companies Making Questionable ‘Made in the USA’ Claims

The Federal Trade Commission today issued warning letters to seven companies that appear to have misrepresented certain products as “Made in the USA,” and one company that appears to have misrepresented certain products as “Made in Texas,” despite indications that such products were imported, in whole or in significant part.

“When Americans spend their hard-earned dollars on goods marketed as ‘Made in the USA,’ they deserve to have confidence that these products were all or virtually all made in this country,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We will hold accountable any company that undermines Americans’ trust with misleading or outright false U.S. origin claims.”

The letters were issued to companies selling products such as drums, industrial laser machinery, coordinate measuring machines and e-cigarettes. Today’s action furthers the Commission’s ongoing work to ensure products claimed to be made in the United States are actually supporting American workers, manufacturing and communities.

In March, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Order, “Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to be made in America,” directing the Commission to prioritize enforcement actions over unlawful “Made in USA” claims.

In April, the Commission announced three law enforcement actions settling allegations that sellers of American flag products, footwear and electronic dartboards violated Section 5 of the FTC Act, Section 45a and the Made in USA Labeling Rule. The firms agreed to stop making unlawful “Made in USA” claims and to pay redress to injured consumers.

Such law enforcement actions also ensure that American businesses, who have made the necessary investments in domestic manufacturing, are not disadvantaged by bad actors and that there is fair competition for those sellers who truthfully advertise their products as made in the United States.