Resource 7: Compliance

The criteria to be able to label a product as Made in the USA are somewhat vague. There are two major sets of criteria:

FTC (Federal Trade Commission)

Here is a quote from Complying with the Made in USA Standard:
What is the standard for a product to be called Made in USA without qualification?
For a product to be called Made in USA, or claimed to be of domestic origin without qualifications or limits on the claim, the product must be "all or virtually all" made in the U.S. The term "United States," as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

What does "all or virtually all" mean?
"All or virtually all" means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.

Qualified claims, e.g. “60% U.S. content” are also explained.

California Business and Professions Code.

Here is section 17533.7.

(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association to sell or offer for sale in this state any merchandise on which merchandise or on its container there appears the words “Made in U.S.A.,” “Made in America,” “U.S.A.,” or similar words if the merchandise or any article, unit, or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States.

(b) This section shall not apply to merchandise made, manufactured, or produced in the United States that has one or more articles, units, or parts from outside of the United States, if all of the articles, units, or parts of the merchandise obtained from outside the United States constitute not more than 5 percent of the final wholesale value of the manufactured product.

(c) (1) This section shall not apply to merchandise made, manufactured, or produced in the United States that has one or more articles, units, or parts from outside of the United States, if both of the following apply:

(A) The manufacturer of the merchandise shows that it can neither produce the article, unit, or part within the United States nor obtain the article, unit, or part of the merchandise from a domestic source.

(B) All of the articles, units, or parts of the merchandise obtained from outside the United States constitute not more than 10 percent of the final wholesale value of the manufactured product.

(2) The determination that the article, unit, or part of the merchandise cannot be made, manufactured, produced, or obtained within the United States from a domestic source shall not be based on the cost of the article, unit, or part.

(d) This section shall not apply to merchandise sold for resale to consumers outside of California.

(e) For purposes of this section, merchandise sold or offered for sale outside of California shall not be deemed mislabeled if the label conforms to the law of the forum state or country within which they are sold or offered for sale.

What is the difference between the FTC and California regulations?

On Sept 2, 2015 California implemented California Senate Bill No. 633 which contains the text quoted above. The California regulation is now more specific than the FTC regulation. The “5 percent” from outside the U.S. California rule is probably pretty close to the “all or virtually all” from inside the U.S. FTC rule.

The Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2015 (Senate Bill 1518), introduced in the U.S. Senate on June 4, 2015, would clarify that the U.S. Government's "Made in USA" labeling standard supersedes differing standards imposed by individual states.