On June 22, 2020, the US Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) to define the
requirements for making ‘Made in USA’ claims on packaging and marketing
materials.
In the proposal, ‘Made in USA’ is defined
as:
“Any unqualified representation, express
or implied, that a product or service, or a specified component thereof, is of
U.S. origin, including, but not limited to, a representation that such product
or service is ‘made,’ ‘manufactured,’ ‘built,’ ‘produced,’ ‘created,’ or
‘crafted’ in the United States or in America, or any other unqualified
US-origin claim.”
The NPR also explicitly covers unqualified ‘Made in
USA’ claims that appear in seals, marks, tags, or stamps in mail order catalogs
or mail order promotional materials, defined in the proposed rule as:
“Any materials, used in the direct sale or
direct offering for sale of any product or service, that are disseminated in
print or by electronic means, and that solicit the purchase of such product or
service by mail, telephone, electronic mail, or some other method without
examining the actual product purchased.”
Currently, most products are not required
to make a ‘Made in USA’ claim. Exceptions include automobiles and items made
from textiles or wool. Businesses can make the claim and, if they do so, they
should ensure it complies with the FTC Made in USA standard.
Under the new rule the FTC is being tasked
with enforcing FTC Section 5 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), which prohibits
the use of unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce.
Meeting the criteria: products must meet
all three statements.
- Final
assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States - All
significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States - All or
virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in
the United States
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Stakeholders should be aware the proposed
Rule would not be subject to pre-emption by any existing federal or state
statutes or regulations relating to country-of-origin labels. The only
exceptions are where such laws or regulations are inconsistent with the Rule. They
should also be aware state rules that offer greater protection than those in
the NPR will not be considered inconsistent.
SGS Consumer Product Services
SGS provides news about the development of
regulations affecting consumer products as a complimentary service. With a
global network of laboratories, SGS provides a wide range of services including
physical/mechanical testing, analytical testing and consultancy work for
technical and non-technical parameters applicable to a comprehensive range of
consumer products. Learn more
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SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with
the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full US
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For further information contact:
Sanjeev Gandhi
SGS Consumer and Retail
Deputy Vice President
Phone: 973 461 7924
Email: crs.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/cgnr
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail
About SGS
SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and
certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality
and integrity. With more than 89,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over
2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.