Insights

On March 13, 2026, the Trump administration issued an executive order (EO), "Ensuring Truthful Advertising of Products Claiming to Be Made in America," which seeks to increase enforcement related to the accuracy of products labeled “Made in America” or "Made in the USA." The EO reaffirms consumers’ right to accurate product information in the digital marketplace.

What’s in the Made in America Advertising EO?

The EO directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prioritize cases involving deceptive "Made in the USA" labeling. The FTC is the principal federal agency responsible for ensuring that companies making “Made in the USA” (“MUSA”) claims satisfy stringent regulatory requirements intended to prevent deceptive labeling.¹ MUSA labeling includes a non-exhaustive list of synonymous phrases, or “equivalents,” to “Made in the USA.” The FTC also regulates implied claims of U.S.-origin that use U.S. symbols or geographic references in such labels or promotional materials, even without expressly stating “Made in the USA.”

Further, the EO somewhat noncommittally requires the FTC to “consider” proposing regulations making it an “unfair or deceptive act or practice” if an online marketplace fails to establish procedures for verifying country of origin claims. The EO also encourages other federal agencies with country-of-origin labeling oversight (e.g., U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)) to promote voluntary U.S.-origin labeling when accurate.

Lastly, the EO implicates government procurement processes by requiring review and verification of “any ‘Buy American Act,’ ‘Country of Origin USA,’ or similar American-origin claims” in government contracts. Government contractors that misrepresent American-origin status will be subject to referral to the Department of Justice for prosecution under the False Claims Act. Additionally, relevant government procurement agencies will remove products with deceptive American-origin claims from government procurement availability.

What Are Made in USA Labeling Requirements?

Broad, unqualified claims of U.S.-origin, such as “Made in USA,” represent that the product being sold or advertised in commerce is “all or virtually all” produced in the United States. Where a product is not all or virtually all produced in the United States, additional language must appear on the label to make clear that the good is not entirely of U.S. origin. Examples include the phrases “Made in USA of imported parts” or “Assembled in USA.” These types of claims are often employed when a product includes imported parts. The FTC also has specific guidelines governing the permissibility of claims comparing one product’s U.S. content to another product’s or to an earlier version of the same product, for example, “more U.S. content than any competitor.”

A MUSA label must have a reasonable basis, supported by valid evidence, at the time the origin claim is made. If a label stating “Made in the USA” lacks reasonable evidentiary support at the time the claim is made, the FTC considers the practice deceptive. Moreover, the absence of a requirement to display a foreign country of origin does not affirmatively imply that marketing such products as “Made in USA” is permissible.

Importantly, the FTC does not eliminate or supersede country-of-origin labeling laws administered by CBP, which is responsible for regulating country-of-origin markings (e.g., “Made in China”) for foreign goods imported into the United States. CBP considers several factors in determining country of origin, including whether and where the product was “substantially transformed,” i.e., manufactured or processed to create a new, distinct article with a different name, character, or use.

Made in USA Labeling Enforcement

FTC MUSA label enforcement has become more active, more punitive, and increasingly attentive to online marketplace practices because the FTC treats digital labels the same as physical labels for enforcement purposes. Digital label exposure can include product pages, marketplace listings, brand websites, downloadable catalogs, digital badges, comparison pages, and images displaying origin seals. In 2025, the FTC sent letters to Amazon and Walmart emphasizing that third-party seller claims on online marketplaces must comply with FTC MUSA guidelines, signaling that host companies are at least partly expected to oversee such compliance.

In January 2024, the FTC finalized a settlement with ExotoUSA, including a monetary judgment of over $4.5 million, for misleading consumers with “100% American made” claims, even though many of its goods were imported from China or contained significant imported content. The settlement also requires ExotoUSA to comply with specific requirements related to future origin claims.

Separately, in August 2023 the FTC finalized an order against a group of New England-based clothing accessory companies for deceptively claiming U.S.-origin through phrases like “Made in USA,” “Hand Crafted in the USA,” and “Made in USA from Global Materials,” where many the products were not “all or virtually all” made in the United States. The companies and their owner were required to pay a monetary judgment of nearly $200,000 and must adhere to specific requirements related to Made in USA claims.

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The March 13 Made in America Labeling EO requires targeted enforcement and regulation of goods labeled “Made in USA,” reaffirms consumers’ right to nondeceptive product information in the “age of the modern digital marketplace,” and reinforces requirements of U.S.-origin claims in the government procurement process. Following the issuance of the EO, companies must ensure that substantiating evidence exists at the time a U.S.-origin claim is made and that claims are intentionally and properly framed as either qualified or unqualified. Companies must also ensure that products labeled with unqualified U.S.-origin claims are composed of “all or virtually all” domestic material and that digital labels and marketplace listings are reviewed with the same care as physical packaging.

In the current enforcement environment, unsupported or overbroad “Made in America” or “Made in USA” claims present increasing regulatory and compliance risks. If you have any questions about FTC Made in USA labeling requirements or enforcement, or about country-of-origin regulations for imported goods, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at Torres Trade Law.