I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4409 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish labels that may be 

used as a voluntary means of indicating to consumers the extent to 

which products are of United States origin, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2016 

Mr. CARNEY (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Federal Trade Commission to establish labels 

that may be used as a voluntary means of indicating 

to consumers the extent to which products are of United 

States origin, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Made in America Act 

5 of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMERICA STAR LABELS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4409 IH

1 shall promulgate regulations in accordance with section 

2 553 of title 5, United States Code, to establish labels that 

3 a person may use as a voluntary means of indicating to 

4 consumers the extent to which products that such person 

5 introduces, delivers for introduction, sells, advertises, or 

6 offers for sale in commerce are of United States origin. 

7 Such labels shall be known as America Star labels. 

8 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR LABELS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations required by 

10 subsection (a) shall establish 4 America Star labels, 

11 as follows: 

12 (A) A label that may be used for a product 

13 that satisfies the standard for an unqualified 

14 United States origin claim set forth by the 

15 Commission in the Enforcement Policy State16 ment. 

17 (B) A label that may be used for a product 

18 for which not less than 90 percent of the total 

19 cost of manufacturing the product is attrib20 utable to United States costs, as determined 

21 under the Enforcement Policy Statement. 

22 (C) A label that may be used for a product 

23 for which not less than 80 percent of the total 

24 cost of manufacturing the product is attribVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Feb 02, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4409.IH H4409

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4409 IH

1 utable to United States costs, as determined 

2 under the Enforcement Policy Statement. 

3 (D) A label that may be used for a product 

4 for which not less than 70 percent of the total 

5 cost of manufacturing the product is attrib6 utable to United States costs, as determined 

7 under the Enforcement Policy Statement. 

8 (2) GOALS.—The America Star labels shall be 

9 designed to achieve the following goals: 

10 (A) Providing clarity for consumers about 

11 the extent to which products are manufactured 

12 in the United States. 

13 (B) Encouraging manufacturers to manu14 facture more products in the United States. 

15 (C) Highlighting the importance of domes16 tic manufacturing for the economy of the 

17 United States. 

18 (3) APPEARANCE AND CONTENT; ADDITIONAL

19 STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

20 required by subsection (a) shall establish the visual 

21 appearance and content of the America Star labels, 

22 any standards (in addition to the standards de23 scribed in paragraph (1)) that a product shall meet 

24 in order for a particular America Star label to be 

25 used for such product, and requirements for the perVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:02 Feb 02, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4409.IH H4409

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4409 IH

1 missible use of the America Star labels, as the Com2 mission considers appropriate to achieve the goals 

3 described in paragraph (2) and to ensure that the 

4 labels— 

5 (A) are consistent with public perceptions 

6 of the meaning of descriptions of the extent to 

7 which a product is of United States origin; and 

8 (B) are not used in a way that is unfair 

9 or deceptive, including, for a product that does 

10 not meet the standards for an America Star 

11 label, placing such label on such product, using 

12 such label in any marketing materials for such 

13 product, or in any other way representing that 

14 such product meets the standards of such label. 

15 (c) USE OF LABELS VOLUNTARY.—The Commission 

16 may not require a person who makes a qualified or un17 qualified claim that a product is of United States origin 

18 to use an America Star label to make such claim. 

19 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

20 shall be construed to affect the standards of the Commis21 sion in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act for a qualified or unqualified claim that a prod23 uct is of United States origin. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4409 IH

1 (e) CONSULTATION.—In promulgating the regula2 tions required by subsection (a), the Commission shall 

3 consult with— 

4 (1) the Commissioner of United States Customs 

5 and Border Protection in order to ensure consistency 

6 with the country of origin labeling requirements 

7 under section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

8 U.S.C. 1304); and 

9 (2) the United States Trade Representative in 

10 order to ensure consistency with the obligations of 

11 the United States under international trade agree12 ments. 

13 (f) ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC15 TICES.—A violation of a regulation promulgated 

16 under this section shall be treated as a violation of 

17 a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Fed18 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 

19 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or 

20 practices. 

21 (2) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commis22 sion shall enforce the regulations promulgated under 

23 this section in the same manner, by the same means, 

24 and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 

25 as though all applicable terms and provisions of the 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4409 IH

1 Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 

2 seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this 

3 Act. Any person who violates a regulation promul4 gated under this section shall be subject to the pen5 alties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 

6 provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

7 SEC. 3. PREEMPTION OF CERTAIN STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

8 (a) REQUIREMENTS MORE STRINGENT THAN FTC 

9 STANDARDS.—Section 320933 of the Violent Crime Con10 trol and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (15 U.S.C. 45a) 

11 and any regulation promulgated by the Commission under 

12 such section shall supercede any provision of law of a 

13 State or a political subdivision of a State that imposes 

14 more stringent requirements relating to the extent to 

15 which any person may introduce, deliver for introduction, 

16 sell, advertise, or offer for sale in commerce a product with 

17 a ‘‘Made in the U.S.A.’’ or ‘‘Made in America’’ label, or 

18 the equivalent thereof, in order to represent that such 

19 product is in whole or substantial part of domestic origin. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS LIMITING ABILITY TO USE

21 AMERICA STAR LABELS.—The regulations promulgated 

22 under section 2 shall supercede any provision of law of 

23 a State or a political subdivision of a State relating to 

24 the extent to which any person introduces, delivers for in25 troduction, sells, advertises, or offers for sale in commerce 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4409 IH

1 a product with a ‘‘Made in the U.S.A.’’ or ‘‘Made in Amer2 ica’’ label, or the equivalent thereof, in order to represent 

3 that such product is in whole or substantial part of domes4 tic origin, to the extent that such provision would have 

5 the effect of limiting the ability of a person to use an 

6 America Star label with respect to a product in accordance 

7 with such regulations. 

8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

11 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

12 (2) ENFORCEMENT POLICY STATEMENT.—The 

13 term ‘‘Enforcement Policy Statement’’ means the 

14 Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin 

15 Claims issued by the Commission in December 1998, 

16 or any successor guidance or regulation. 

17 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

18 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

19 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

20 States, and each federally recognized Indian tribe. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS