December 4, 1998
FTC Decides To Keep "Made in
USA" Label Simple, Honest, and American
Reversal Marks Major Victory For "Made in
USA" Coalition
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 1, 1997) -- In a dramatic reversal
hailed by the Made in USA Coalition, the Federal Trade Commission
today announced that it will not proceed with plans to lower the
standard for the use of the "Made in USA" label and
instead will continue to enforce the current labor standard.
The Commission pointedly refused to give final approval to
its own proposal, unveiled last May 5, to allow the "Made
in USA" label to be applied to products with 25 percent or
more foreign content. Instead, the Commissioners decided to maintain
the current standard for the label, which requires that products
promoted as "Made in USA" be "all or virtually
all" made in the USA with only de minimis or negligible
foreign content.
"'Made in USA' will continue to mean made in the U.S.A.,"
said David Flory, a spokesman for the Made in USA Coalition. "The
FTC's decision to keep the 'Made in USA' label simple, honest
and all-American is a tremendous victory for consumers and for
American working men and women who proudly make their products
here in the U.S.A."
"The FTC deserves praise for listening to the American
people before it finalized its proposal to water down the 'Made
in USA' labe," Flory said.
"American consumers had some incredible champions in the
Congress who defended a strong and honest 'Made in USA' label,"
Flory said, noting in particular the leadership shown by U.S.
Representatives Bob Franks (R-NJ) and John Dingell (D-MI) and
U.S. Senators Ernest Hollings (D-SC) and Spencer Abraham (R-MI).
Reps. Franks and Dingell were the primary cosponsors in the
House of Representatives of legislation (H.Con.Res. 80) opposing
the FTC plan to weaken the label. The Franks-Dingell resolution
won the cosponsorship of 226 House Members from both parties,
a rare level of cosponsorship support comprising an outright majority
of the House.
In the Senate, companion legislation that was only recently
introduced by Senators Hollings and Abraham quickly earned the
cosponsorship of both Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS)
and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and of one quarter of the
entire Senate.
Flory also praised the members of the Made in USA Coalition,
comprised of 100 consumer groups, businesses and business organizations,
labor unions, and agriculture, organizations, in fighting to support
the current label standard.
"The members of the Made in USA Coalition did an outstanding
job of alerting the American people and their representatives
to the danger that this proposal represented to American consumers
and to U.S. jobs," Flory said. "All parts of the Coalition
-- consumers, labor, business and agricultural groups -- pulled
together as modern day Paul Reveres to let the FTC and the Congress
know exactly how America felt about watering down our label."
"Everyone associated with this campaign deserves to feel
a special pride whenever they see a 'Made in USA' label from now
on," he added.
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