{"id":284192,"date":"2025-07-23T03:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T03:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/284192\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T03:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T03:40:12","slug":"how-does-ftc-enforce-made-in-usa-label-regulation-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/284192\/","title":{"rendered":"How does FTC enforce &#8216;Made in USA&#8217; label regulation? \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>The FTC warned Amazon and Walmart to comply with &#8220;Made in USA&#8221; label regulations.<\/li>\n<li>The Trump administration is also shining a spotlight on companies that do make their products in the United States. <\/li>\n<li>Tariffs and FTC actions could increase costs and lawsuits for U.S. manufacturers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The Trump administration spotlighted an American manufacturer in Utah on Tuesday for making its products entirely in the United States amid President Donald Trump\u2019s crackdown on companies that misuse the \u201cMade in USA\u201d label.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">As part of the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s \u201cMade in the USA\u201d month, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, Utah\u2019s former solicitor general, visited the Utah facility of Leitner-Poma-Skytrac, a ski lift company in Tooele on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In recent weeks, the FTC has attempted to advance a core plank of Trump\u2019s domestic and foreign policy agenda \u2014 to strengthen American manufacturing by cracking down on false claims of products originating in the U.S. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a priority of the administration right now,\u201d Holyoak told the Deseret News. \u201cWe want to ensure that Americans are confident that when they\u2019re supporting manufacturers that are creating products in the United States &#8230; that actually is truthful and not misleading.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.44;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/JFJQTNKDSBGHVHEGTKDN7MSSZU.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"555\"\/>Melissa Holyoak, a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, tours the HTI Group (High Technology Industries) facility, home to Leitner-Poma and Skytrac, with Daren Cole, president and CEO of Leitner-Poma, in Tooele on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News FTC warns USA companies <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">On July 8, the FTC sent a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/07\/federal-trade-commission-warns-companies-comply-made-usa-requirements\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2025\/07\/federal-trade-commission-warns-companies-comply-made-usa-requirements\">letter<\/a> warning Amazon and Walmart to improve their policing of third-party sellers who claim their products are USA-made. The letter also flagged four additional companies, \u201creminding them to comply\u201d with \u201cMade in USA\u201d requirements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">The FTC \u201cMade in USA Labeling Rule\u201d finalized in 2021 codified federal guidelines clarifying that if a company makes an unqualified claim that its product is American-made, then it must be \u201call or virtually all\u201d made in the U.S. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">This standard means that the final assembly, all significant processing and \u201cvirtually all ingredients or components\u201d of the product must be made and sourced in the United States. Simply put, the product can contain almost no \u201cforeign content.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">If a company fails to meet these qualifications while making use of the \u201cMade in USA\u201d label, the FTC\u2019s consumer protection enforcement bureau can pursue legal action, including federal lawsuits, civil penalties, injunctions and subpoenas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Over the past decade, the FTC has initiated at least 20 law enforcement actions to enforce \u201cMade in USA\u201d advertising requirements, recovering nearly $10 million, according to Holyoak. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/04\/williams-sonoma-will-pay-record-317-million-civil-penalty-violating-ftc-made-usa-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2024\/04\/williams-sonoma-will-pay-record-317-million-civil-penalty-violating-ftc-made-usa-order\">example<\/a>, Williams-Sonoma agreed to pay the FTC a $3.2 million civil penalty after Pottery Barn Kids and Teens products marketed as made in the U.S. were found to have been made in China. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe hear from consumers why it\u2019s important to them that they feel like when they\u2019re supporting American manufacturing, they\u2019re supporting America and American communities,\u201d Holyoak said. <\/p>\n<p>Could tariffs hurt \u2018Made in USA\u2019?<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.51;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SKFLNUCKJNBIFAVBBXVNOZ7A5U.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"529\"\/>Joshua Skuppin welds a chairlift tower at the HTI Group (High Technology Industries) facility, home to Leitner-Poma and Skytrac, in Tooele on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">In addition to enforcement actions, the FTC provides compliance counseling to educate medium and small businesses, according to Holyoak, who said they anticipate an increase in the number of businesses making \u201cMade in USA\u201d claims as they transition to domestic manufacturing. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Carl Skylling, the president of Skytrac, which employs more than 80 people in Tooele, said his Utah-based business has always sourced its labor, components and raw materials, including steel, from U.S. suppliers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cWe always saw it as a major advantage because we control our destiny here,\u201d Skylling said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have the core problems of shipping everything over.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Businesses across the country experienced the instability of overrelying on international supply chains during COVID-19, and now with Trump\u2019s emerging tariff regime, Skytrac is better prepared than its competitors to avoid new levies, Skylling said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/MKBILV4AARHTLDMU3XOK3QILBU.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"537\"\/>Grant Colvin, a consultant with GWC Public Affairs; Carl Skylling, president of Skytrac; Melissa Holyoak, a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission; and Daren Cole, president and CEO of Leitner-Poma, tour the HTI Group (High Technology Industries) facility, home to Leitner-Poma and Skytrac, in Tooele on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">But even the manufacturers that proudly wear the \u201cMade in USA\u201d label have been hit indirectly by tariffs, Skylling said, because domestic suppliers, like U.S. steel plants, have taken advantage of the new import tax by raising their prices too.<\/p>\n<p>Do Americans want goods made in the U.S.? <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">While these pressures from tariffs and other regulations are unlikely to increase the quality of products for consumers, they will push U.S. companies into \u201creally awkward supply lines,\u201d according to Michael Kofoed, an economist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Despite some <a href=\"https:\/\/integrisit.com\/beyond-label-report-challenges-manufacturing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/integrisit.com\/beyond-label-report-challenges-manufacturing\/\">polls<\/a> showing that 75% of U.S. consumers prefer U.S.-made goods, Kofoed said most surveys find that price and the value added to their life from a product are the most important factors for most American consumers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">After all, if Americans prioritized a product\u2019s country of origin above other considerations then tariffs wouldn\u2019t be needed at all to spur more consumption of more expensive domestic products, Kofoed said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">It may make sense to ramp up enforcement of \u201cMade in USA\u201d labels to promote an administration\u2019s agenda, but it could also create new incentives that stray from market forces that encourage high quality, low cost and maximum efficiency, according to Kofoed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cEvery time we deviate from that, we start to open a Pandora\u2019s box of unintended consequences,\u201d Kofoed said. \u201cMaybe what happens is my competitor can\u2019t compete with me on price and efficiency because I am so good at what I do, so they\u2019re going to now take me to court to claim \u2018that\u2019s not American enough.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Trump administration looks to promote U.S. businesses<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.53;background-color:#F3F1F0;cursor:pointer\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/5SG6YV7PDZAC3EX4PO5W6SGA2U.JPG\"  width=\"800\" height=\"522\"\/>Melissa Holyoak, a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, tours the HTI Group (High Technology Industries) facility, home to Leitner-Poma and Skytrac, with Daren Cole, president and CEO of Leitner-Poma, in Tooele on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">What Tuesday\u2019s tour taught Holyoak, however, is that the administration\u2019s emphasis on making products in America is not about picking firms to be winners or losers in the market, it\u2019s about promoting American entrepreneurs who are at the core of what makes the country great. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Leitner-Poma, the ski lift company that owns Skytrac, opened its new Utah facility a little over a year ago after CEO Daren Cole was impressed by the state\u2019s business climate and economic development team that connected him with supply chain partners. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">But the key to their long-term investment in the state, Cole said \u2014 which includes welding wages of nearly $40 an hour, software development projects with the University of Utah and high school scholarship programs \u2014 is the people. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">Holyoak, who planned to visit another Utah-based manufacturer, Liberty Safe, on Wednesday, said the purpose of their advertising regulations is to guarantee consumers can actually support \u201cAmerican companies and American manufacturing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph\">\u201cAs Utah celebrates Pioneer Day on the 24th, I\u2019m excited to celebrate American pioneers of industry and innovation,\u201d said Holyoak, who lives in Utah. \u201cThe FTC has, and will continue to, dedicate resources to enforce against deceptive \u2018Made in the USA\u2019 claims, while honoring true pioneers that make honest claims of American-made products.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The FTC warned Amazon and Walmart to comply with &#8220;Made in USA&#8221; label regulations. The Trump administration is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284193,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[38117,29855,49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-284192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-news-division","9":"tag-news-feed-national","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-us","12":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114900476012067846","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284192\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}