Democrat Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin in a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday urged the body to fully enforce “Made in the USA” labeling standards, alleging that companies are fraudulently attaching such labels to foreign products, specifically from China.
“Consumers view American-made goods more positively and are often willing to pay a higher price for them,” the senators wrote. “In addition, consumers may be less likely to have health or quality concerns about a product when its true country of origin is concealed. If the consequences of misusing the ‘Made in the USA’ label do not include paying fines or admitting wrongdoing, it is unlikely that these and other companies will be deterred from using the same deceptive tactics to sell their products in the future.”
The senators urged the FTC to require companies violating labeling laws to pay fines and “admit they lied,” noting that if those consequences aren’t brought to bear, it’s unlikely that violative companies will be deterred from “using the same deceptive tactics” to sell their products in the future.