U.S. President Donald Trump is counting on his new tariffs to prop up products that are “Made in America.” In the U.S., the term is linked with patriotism and pride, serving as a counter to “Made in China” and other offshore manufacturing. In reality, though, many products that say they are “Made in America” aren’t fully made in the U.S. in the way consumers might expect.
Shoppers today have likely seen the words “Made in U.S.A.” included on clothing tags or stamped on the underside of home goods. The marker is officially overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, a government agency that enforces consumer protection and antitrust laws. According to the FTC, the label “Made in U.S.A” applies to products that are “all or virtually all” made in America. “Significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin,” the policy reads. (These rules also apply to anything labeled as “American-made” or “Made in America.”)
According to the FTC, marketers are subject to civil penalties if they use an unqualified “Made in U.S.A.” label on a product. But finding (and fining) rule breakers can be difficult because vetting is not baked into the process from the get-go. Per the FTC, “a company doesn’t need approval from the FTC before making a ‘made in U.S.A.’ claim and the FTC doesn’t pre-approve advertising or labeling claims.” The FTC also says that “as with most other advertising claims, a manufacturer or marketer may make any claim as long as it’s truthful and substantiated.”
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