06/10/96 - 161 - Comments for Tile Council of America, Inc. By Robert
Daniels

Federal Trade Commission
Received Documents
June 10, 1996
P894219
B18354900161


Tile Council of America, Inc.




June 7, 1996

Donald S. Clark
Office of the Secretary
Federal Trade Commission, Room 519
Sixth & Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580

Re:  ?Made in USA? Comment, FTC File No. P894219

Dear Secretary Clark:

Tile Council of America, Inc. (?TCA?) submits this letter in response
to the Federal Trade Commission's ("FTC") request for comments
concerning use of the term ?Made in USA? in product advertising and
labeling.  60 Fed. Reg. 53922 (Oct. 18, 1995); 61 Fed. Reg. 18600
(Apr. 26, 1996).  TCA is a trade association representing more than
forty American manufacturers of ceramic tile and related products.
These companies produce over 70 percent of the ceramic tile
manufactured in the United States.

Currently, about 60 percent of the ceramic tile sold in the United
States is imported.  It is extremely important to the U.S. ceramic
tile industry, therefore, that imported ceramic tile be correctly
marked and that the ?Made in USA? label is not misused.  As such, TCA
welcomes the FTC's review of this important issue and encourages
strict enforcement of what has been a problematic point for many of
our domestic tile companies.  In this regard, TCA has received
complaints from tile manufacturing companies about fraudulent use of
the ?Made in USA? label by foreign ceramic tile producers, most
significantly by certain large Mexican manufacturers.

TCA, in short, strongly supports use of the "all or virtually all"
standard to determine use of the ?Made in USA? claim.  In the context
of ceramic tile, the "all or virtually all" standard is the most
reasonable, feasible and accurate method to evaluate whether ?Made in
USA? may be used.  For ceramic tile, the standard should mean that
both the basic raw materials (e.g. clay) and labor are of U.S. origin.
 As such, if either the raw materials or labor are not of U.S. origin,
the claim ?Made in USA? should not be permitted.  In these comments, I
first briefly describe how ceramic tile is manufactured.  The
importance and relevance of use of the term ?Made in USA? then is
described.  I will then address why the "all or virtually all"
standard is the most appropriate standard to determine whether ceramic
tile is ?Made in USA?.





P.O. Box 1787  Clemson, South Carolina 29633-1787 Tel (864) 646-TILE Fax
(864) 646-2821
Donald S. Clark
June 7, 1996
Page 2

A.      Manufacture of Ceramic Tile

Ceramic tile is a surfacing product, usually relatively thin in
relation to facial area, made from clay or a mixture of clay and other
earthen materials and fired to a temperature sufficiently high to
produce specific physical properties and characteristics.  Unglazed
tile is a hard, dense tile of uniform composition throughout, deriving
color and texture from the materials of which the body is made.
Glazed tile has an impervious facial finish composed of ceramic
materials fused to the body of the tile.

B.   The Importance of "Made in USA" to Ceramic Tile

Correct   use of the ?Made in USA? label is extremely important with
respect to the domestic ceramic tile market.  It is TCA's experience
and the experience of our member companies that customers may be
strongly influenced to purchase "Made in USA" marked tile.  When ?Made
in USA? is marked on ceramic tile it conveys distinctive quality, high
reliability, access to service and matching trim shapes, and
subsequent ability to match replacement or additional tiles.  Retail
consumers of ceramic tile rely on the ?Made in USA? label and benefit
from use of the label for the following reasons:

? ability of the customer to obtain additional or replacement tiles
identical to those being purchased

? access to complimentary trim shapes

? availability of follow-up service and installation consultation

? product guarantees or warranties to U.S. standards for such
characteristics as breakage and slip resistance

? ?Made in USA? is required for commercial customers purchasing for
certain federal or state jobs

? allows consumers to choose between the U.S. ceramic tile and
imported ceramic tile

?  aids in determining likely place of product availability

?  basis for determining quality of materials, workmanship and service

? basis for establishing information on conditions of production
  (including labor conditions and health and safety tests)
 Donald S. Clark
June 7, 1996
Page 3

? basis for price comparisons

? preserves domestic jobs

? supports local economy, as many ceramic tile producers are small
community companies


C.      Standard for When "Made in USA" Label May Be Used

TCA supports use of the "Made in USA" label when "all or virtually
all" of the component parts were made in the United States and "all or
virtually all" of the labor in manufacturing the ceramic tile is
performed in the United States.  As discussed above, ceramic tile is
produced by forming clay (or other non-metallic substances) into
specific shapes and heating it to certain temperatures.  The only
logical and workable application of the ?Made in USA?' claim must
include both the raw materials and the labor.  Tile producers in the
United States generally use U.S. origin raw materials such as clay and
fire those materials in kilns located in the United States.  The
quality and reliability benefits of tile ?Made in USA? are the result
of both the domestic sourcing of raw materials and the domestic
manufacturing process.  Tile manufactured in a Mexican plant by
Mexican workers from clay dug in the U.S. clearly does not meet the
?Made in USA? expectations of U.S. consumers.  Similarly, use of a lesser
standard, based for example on only a certain percentage of clay
source in the United States, would not afford consumers the confidence
of tile truly produced in the U.S. and would diminish the value of the
?Made in USA? label.

There is no question that marking the back of individual tile pieces
with ?Made in the USA? is a de minimus issue.  The backs of all clay
risque are marked or imprinted anyway, by necessity, to create a
textured surface to hold the grout or other mounting material.  The
use of a punch, die, press plate, or other method for imprinting the
?Made in USA? mark represents minimal additional cost or effort.  For
smaller tile sizes, which are usually adhered to a paper or open mesh
backing, such labeling easily can be printed on or attached to the
paper or mesh backing material.  Carton or container marking also is a
 de minimus cost issue.

D.      Conclusions

For the reasons set forth above, TCA requests that the FTC fully adopt
and enforce the "all or virtually all" standard in determining when
ceramic tile is "Made in USA," by requiring that both the raw
materials and labor are of U.S. origin.

Sincerely,



Robert E. Daniels
Executive Director