{"id":847956,"date":"2026-03-24T21:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/847956\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T21:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T21:54:13","slug":"trump-administration-directs-federal-trade-commission-to-prioritize-made-in-usa-enforcement-kelley-drye-warren-llp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/847956\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Directs Federal Trade Commission to Prioritize Made in USA Enforcement | Kelley Drye & Warren LLP"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 13, 2026, President Donald Trump issued an executive order <\/a>directing the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prioritize enforcement of Made in USA claims. According to the executive order, the Trump administration is concerned that foreign manufacturers may misrepresent the origin of products in order to pass their foreign-made products to \u200b\u201cpatriotic consumers\u201d in the U.S. The executive order also states that the administration prioritizes accurate claims because U.S. businesses \u200b\u201care entitled to the undiluted branding benefits that come with supporting the American economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

This statement of administration policy is an endorsement of the FTC\u2019s longstanding scrutiny of Made in USA claims. The agency requires manufacturers or marketers making an unqualified \u200b\u201cMade in USA\u201d claim to have substantiation that supports that the product is \u200b\u201call or virtually all\u201d made in the United States. In 2021, the FTC finalized its \u200b\u201cMade in USA Labeling Rule,\u201d which codified the \u200b\u201call or virtually all\u201d standard and subjects businesses to civil penalties of up to $53K per violation.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the White House\u2019s action comes after a year in which the FTC has been relatively quiet in its enforcement of Made in USA issues. Since FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson took the helm at the agency, the FTC has not announced a major Made in USA enforcement action<\/a>. The FTC has also seemingly suspended its closing letter<\/a> program, in which the agency issues a closing letter to businesses that have corrected erroneous Made in USA claims. In 2024, by contrast, the FTC announced two enforcement actions and issued 10 closing letters as part of its Made in USA enforcement program.<\/p>\n

The FTC has not dialed back its stated prioritization of Made in USA enforcement, however. Last year, Chairman Ferguson designated July 2025 as \u200b\u201cMade in USA\u201d month, to coincide with the July 4 holiday. The FTC also sent warning letters to four companies reminding<\/a> them of their obligations to comply with Made in USA requirements.<\/p>\n

The FTC has also signaled it is focused<\/a> on ensuring that online marketplaces like Amazon\u200b.com work with third-party sellers to require the use of accurate Made in USA claims. In a nod to this effort, the White House\u2019s executive order directs the FTC to \u200b\u201cconsider\u201d regulations that \u200b\u201cthe failure of an online marketplace to \u200b\u2018establish procedures for verifying country-of-origin claims\u2019\u201d by sellers would violate the FTC Act.<\/p>\n

The White House\u2019s action acknowledges that the FTC is not the only agency with oversight of country-of-origin labeling requirements. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is responsible for enforcement of the Tariff Act, which requires many imported goods to be marked with the foreign country of origin. Also, the Buy American Act requires government agencies to preference Made in USA products in government procurement. Along these lines, the executive order directs \u200b\u201call agencies with oversight of country-of-origin labeling\u201d \u2013 and not just the FTC \u2013 to consider new regulations that \u200b\u201cpromote voluntary country-of-origin labeling\u201d for products made or manufactured in the U.S. Also, the executive order emphasizes that businesses that provide products or services to the government may face audits of their Made in USA claims.<\/p>\n

What should you do if you receive an inquiry letter from the FTC?<\/p>\n

The executive order directs the FTC to ramp up its enforcement of Made in USA claims. Companies making any type of origin designation claims in advertising, including those passed on from a vendor or supplier, should audit those claims. Businesses that receive an inquiry from the FTC regarding Made in USA claims, including a civil investigative demand or access letter, should understand that the FTC is prioritizing enforcement in this area and may seek penalties where it identifies non-compliance with advertising substantiation requirements. Companies can work with FTC counsel to respond to an investigation as well as to assess if any claims should be qualified or discontinued in accordance with FTC guidance.<\/p>\n

[View source<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On March 13, 2026, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Chairman of the Federal Trade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":847957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-847956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116286381496488957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847956","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=847956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}