The FTC is pushing back against false 'Made in USA' claims

The next time you see a "Made in the USA" label on a product, you might want to think twice about its accuracy. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been cracking down on what it calls "deceptive" claims of products being manufactured in the U.S. that are actually made overseas. The agency has been pushing for more transparency against this kind of business practice and even dubbed July 2025 "Made in the USA" month. But why are companies doing this and how is the FTC trying to stop it?

Why are companies doing this?

Many companies place a "Made in the USA" label on their items (whether they are made in the U.S. or not) to entice buyers, according to the FTC. This label "provides consumers with confidence that when they buy something that says 'Made in the USA' they are actually supporting American workers, American manufacturers, and American communities," said FTC Chair Andrew N. Ferguson in a press release.

And it appears that these labels do play a part in the kinds of products Americans buy. A "recent poll found that 61% of Americans stated that whether a product was 'Made in the USA' played a factor in their purchasing decisions," said the FTC, though the agency did not cite what poll it was referring to. Many Americans may "believe that American-made goods are higher quality and better for the environment than foreign-produced alternatives," which can influence which products the average consumer buys.

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How is the FTC fighting back?

The agency is working to enforce its guidelines around "Made in the USA" products that it is pushing companies to comply with. To use this label, the FTC has "required that a product advertised as Made in USA be 'all or virtually all' made in the U.S.," according to the agency's product standards.

This means either that the "final assembly or processing takes place in the U.S., or that all 'significant' processing takes place in the U.S.," said USA Today. Products "with 'all or virtually all' components made and sourced in the U.S. also qualify." However, the FTC also takes into account other factors, such as how much of the "product's manufacturing costs are U.S.-based and how important foreign inputs are to the final product's form or function," Kathleen Benway, a partner at the law firm Alston and Bird and former FTC official, told USA Today. Figuring out whether a product is made in the U.S. "can be tricky" and is "often determined on a case-by-case basis."

As part of these individual circumstances, the FTC warned Amazon and Walmart after it reportedly "learned of several instances where third-party sellers falsely claimed their products were made in the United States," said Reuters. The agency has said that some products are not truly made in the U.S. and "violate federal law and Amazon's and Walmart's codes of conduct."

The agency also sent warning letters to four smaller companies "which claim their goods are of U.S. origin" after the FTC found "indications that the products are imported, either wholly or in part," said the retail news outlet RetailTouchPoints. And a 2024 investigation into homeware chain Williams Sonoma found "800-plus examples of products marketed as 'Made in the USA' or 'Crafted in America' when they were actually imported," Laura Smith, the legal director of the nonprofit Truth in Advertising, told CBS News. This "led to the largest 'Made in the USA' civil penalty in history," with a $3 million fine levied against Williams Sonoma.