II 

Calendar No. 289 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1421 

To require origin and location disclosure for new products of foreign origin 

offered for sale on the internet. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2023 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. VANCE, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. HAWLEY, 

Mr. BRAUN, and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported by Ms. CANTWELL, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To require origin and location disclosure for new products 

of foreign origin offered for sale on the internet. 

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 ‘‘Country Of Origin La5 beling Online Act’’ or the ‘‘COOL Online Act’’. 

2 

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1 SEC. 2. MANDATORY ORIGIN AND LOCATION DISCLOSURE 

2 FOR NEW PRODUCTS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN 

3 OFFERED FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET. 

4 (a) MANDATORY DISCLOSURE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (A) DISCLOSURE.—Subject to subpara7 graph (B), it shall be unlawful for a product 

8 that is marked or required to be marked under 

9 section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 

10 U.S.C. 1304) to be introduced, sold, advertised, 

11 or offered for sale in commerce on an internet 

12 website unless the internet website description 

13 of the product indicates in a conspicuous 

14 place— 

15 (i) the country of origin of the prod16 uct (or, in the case of a multi-sourced 

17 product, the countries of origin), in a man18 ner consistent with the regulations pre19 scribed under such section 304; and 

20 (ii) the country in which the seller of 

21 the product has its principal place of busi22 ness. 

23 (B) EXCLUSIONS.— 

24 (i) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.—The 

25 disclosure requirements under clauses (i) 

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1 and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not 

2 apply to— 

3 (I) a covered commodity (as de4 fined in section 281 of the Agricul5 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

6 U.S.C. 1638)); 

7 (II) a meat or meat food product 

8 subject to inspection under the Fed9 eral Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

10 601 et seq.); 

11 (III) a poultry or poultry product 

12 subject to inspection under the Poul13 try Products Inspection Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 451 et seq.); or 

15 (IV) an egg product subject to 

16 regulation under the Egg Products 

17 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 et 

18 seq.). 

19 (ii) FOOD AND DRUGS.—The disclo20 sure requirements under clauses (i) and 

21 (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 

22 a food or drug (as those terms are defined 

23 in paragraphs (f) and (g), respectively, of 

24 section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, 

25 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321) that is 

4 

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1 subject to the jurisdiction of the Food and 

2 Drug Administration. 

3 (iii) USED OR PREVIOUSLY OWNED

4 ARTICLES.—The disclosure requirements 

5 under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 

6 (A) shall not apply to any used or pre7 viously owned article sold by an internet 

8 website marketplace or a seller on an inter9 net website marketplace. For the purposes 

10 of the preceding sentence, the term ‘‘used 

11 or previously owned article’’ means an arti12 cle that was previously sold or offered for 

13 sale at retail. 

14 (iv) SMALL SELLER.—The disclosure 

15 requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of 

16 subparagraph (A) shall not apply to goods 

17 listed by a small seller. For the purposes 

18 of the preceding sentence, the term ‘‘small 

19 seller’’ means a seller with annual sales of 

20 less than $20,000 and fewer than 200 dis21 crete sales. 

22 (C) MULTI-SOURCED PRODUCTS.—For 

23 purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), a product 

24 shall be considered to be a ‘‘multi-sourced prod25 uct’’ if a seller offers for sale a finished prodVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1421.RS S1421
5 

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1 uct, identical versions of which are produced in 

2 multiple countries. 

3 (2) CERTAIN DRUG PRODUCTS.—It shall be un4 lawful for a drug that is not subject to section 

5 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

6 Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)) and that is required to be 

7 marked under section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 

8 (19 U.S.C. 1304) to be offered for sale in commerce 

9 to consumers on an internet website unless the inter10 net website description of the drug indicates in a 

11 conspicuous place the name and place of business of 

12 the manufacturer, packer, or distributor that is re13 quired to appear on the label of the drug in accord14 ance with section 502(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, 

15 and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 352(b)). 

16 (3) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE.—A manufac17 turer, importer, distributor, seller, supplier, or pri18 vate labeler seeking to have a product introduced, 

19 sold, advertised, or offered for sale in commerce 

20 shall provide the information identified clauses (i) 

21 and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) or paragraph (2), as 

22 applicable, to the relevant retailer. 

23 (4) SAFE HARBOR.—A retailer or a seller on an 

24 internet website marketplace satisfies the disclosure 

25 requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph 

6 

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1 (1)(A) or paragraph (2), as applicable, if the disclo2 sure includes the country of origin and seller infor3 mation provided by a third-party manufacturer, im4 porter, distributor, seller, supplier, or private labeler 

5 of the product. 

6 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

7 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC8 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) shall be treated 

9 as a violation of a rule prescribed under section 

10 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

12 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

14 enforce this section in the same manner, by the 

15 same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

16 powers, and duties as though all applicable 

17 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 

18 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were in19 corporated into and made a part of this section. 

20 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

21 person that violates subsection (a) shall be sub22 ject to the penalties and entitled to the privi23 leges and immunities provided in the Federal 

24 Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 

25 as though all applicable terms and provisions of 

7 

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1 that Act were incorporated and made part of 

2 this section. 

3 (C) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 

4 this section may be construed to limit the au5 thority of the Commission under any other pro6 vision of law. 

7 (3) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—Not later 

8 than 6 months after the date of enactment of this 

9 section, the Commission, the U.S. Customs and Bor10 der Protection, and the Department of Agriculture 

11 shall— 

12 (A) enter into a Memorandum of Under13 standing or other appropriate agreement for the 

14 purpose of providing consistent implementation 

15 of this section; and 

16 (B) publish such agreement to provide 

17 public guidance. 

18 (4) DEFINITION OF COMMISSION.—In this sub19 section, the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Federal 

20 Trade Commission. 

21 (c) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.—A retailer or seller 

22 is not in violation of subsection (a) if— 

23 (1) a third-party manufacturer, distributor, sell24 er, supplier, or private labeler provided the retailer 

25 or seller with a false or deceptive representation as 

8 

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1 to the country of origin of a product or its parts or 

2 processing; and 

3 (2) the retailer or seller— 

4 (A) relied in good faith on that representa5 tion; and 

6 (B) took immediate action to remove any 

7 such false or deceptive representations upon no8 tice. 

9 (d) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this sec10 tion may be construed to limit the authority of the Depart11 ment of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, 

12 or U.S. Customs and Border Protection under any other 

13 provision of law. 

14 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

15 12 months after the date of the publication of the Memo16 randum of Understanding or agreement under subsection 

17 (b)(3). 

18 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

19 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Country Of Origin La20 beling Online Act’’ or the ‘‘COOL Online Act’’. 

21 SEC. 2. MANDATORY ORIGIN DISCLOSURE FOR NEW PROD22 UCTS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN OFFERED FOR 

23 SALE ON THE INTERNET. 

24 (a) MANDATORY DISCLOSURE.— 

25 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 

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1 (A) DISCLOSURE.—Subject to the suc2 ceeding provisions of this paragraph, it shall be 

3 unlawful for an online store, an online market4 place, or a seller to introduce, sell, or offer for 

5 sale on an internet website a product that is 

6 marked or required to be marked under section 

7 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) 

8 unless the country of origin is disclosed in a con9 spicuous manner on the online store or online 

10 marketplace’s online description of the product 

11 and in a manner consistent with the regulations 

12 prescribed under such section 304 at the time of 

13 the product’s importation, or anticipated impor14 tation, into the customs territory of the United 

15 States. 

16 (B) EXCLUSIONS.— 

17 (i) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.—The 

18 disclosure requirements under subparagraph 

19 (A) shall not apply to— 

20 (I) a covered commodity (as de21 fined in section 281 of the Agricultural 

22 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

23 1638)); 

24 (II) a meat or meat food product 

25 subject to inspection under the Federal 

10 

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1 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et 

2 seq.); 

3 (III) a poultry or poultry product 

4 subject to inspection under the Poultry 

5 Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

6 451 et seq.); or 

7 (IV) an egg product subject to reg8 ulation under the Egg Products Inspec9 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 et seq.). 

10 (ii) FOOD AND DRUGS.—The disclosure 

11 requirements under subparagraph (A) shall 

12 not apply to a food or drug (as those terms 

13 are defined in paragraphs (f) and (g), re14 spectively, of section 201 of the Federal 

15 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

16 321)) that is subject to the jurisdiction of 

17 the Food and Drug Administration. 

18 (iii) USED OR PREVIOUSLY OWNED

19 PRODUCTS.—The disclosure requirements 

20 under subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 

21 any used or previously owned products sold 

22 in interstate commerce. 

23 (iv) SMALL SELLER.—The disclosure 

24 requirements under subparagraph (A) shall 

25 not apply to goods listed by a small seller. 

11 

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1 (C) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.— 

2 (i) ONLINE STORE.—An online store is 

3 not in violation of the requirements under 

4 subparagraph (A) if the online store pro5 vided its third party manufacturer, dis6 tributor, supplier, or private labeler with— 

7 (I) a notice of their obligation to 

8 provide the country of origin to the 

9 store, if applicable; and 

10 (II) the means to list directly, or 

11 provide to the online store for listing, 

12 the country of origin of the product. 

13 (ii) ONLINE MARKETPLACE.— 

14 (I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub15 clause (II), an online marketplace is 

16 not in violation of the requirements 

17 under subparagraph (A) if the online 

18 marketplace provided its sellers with— 

19 (aa) a notice of the seller’s 

20 obligation to provide country of 

21 origin information when selling a 

22 product; and 

23 (bb) the means to list the 

24 country of origin in the product’s 

25 description. 

12 

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1 (II) EXCEPTION.—Subclause (I) 

2 shall not apply when the online mar3 ketplace is selling the product itself, 

4 rather than only facilitating a sale by 

5 a seller and relying on a seller for that 

6 product’s information. 

7 (iii) SELLER.—A seller is not in viola8 tion of the requirements under subpara9 graph (A) if the online marketplace did not 

10 provide the seller with— 

11 (I) the notice described in clause 

12 (ii)(I)(aa); or 

13 (II) the means to list the county 

14 of origin in the product’s description 

15 as described in clause (ii)(I)(bb). 

16 (D) FUNGIBLE GOODS OR MATERIALS.—For 

17 the purposes of subparagraph (A) and in accord18 ance with section 102.12(f) of title 19, Code of 

19 Federal Regulations, an online store, an online 

20 marketplace, or a seller is in compliance with 

21 the disclosure requirements under subparagraph 

22 (A) if it lists multiple countries of origin for 

23 products that are fungible goods or materials. 

24 Products shall be considered to be ‘‘fungible goods 

25 or materials’’ if the goods or materials, as the 

13 

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1 case may be, are interchangeable for commercial 

2 purposes and have properties which are essen3 tially identical. 

4 (E) SAFE HARBOR.—An online store, an 

5 online marketplace, or a seller satisfies the dis6 closure requirements under subparagraph (A) if 

7 the online store, online marketplace, or seller re8 lies on the country of origin representation pro9 vided by a third party manufacturer, importer, 

10 distributor, supplier, or private labeler of the 

11 product. 

12 (2) CERTAIN DRUG PRODUCTS.—It shall be un13 lawful for an online store, an online marketplace, or 

14 a seller to offer for sale in commerce to consumers on 

15 an internet website a drug that is not subject to sec16 tion 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos17 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)) and that is required 

18 to be marked under section 304 of the Tariff Act of 

19 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) unless the internet website de20 scription of the drug indicates in a conspicuous place 

21 the name and place of business of the manufacturer, 

22 packer, or distributor that is required to appear on 

23 the label of the drug in accordance with section 502(b) 

24 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

25 U.S.C. 352(b)). 

14 

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1 (3) OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE.—A manufacturer, 

2 importer, distributor, supplier, or private labeler seek3 ing to have a product introduced, sold, advertised, or 

4 offered for sale in commerce shall provide the marking 

5 information required by section 304 of the Tariff Act 

6 of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) to the relevant online store, 

7 an online marketplace, or a seller who wishes to offer 

8 the product for sale on an internet website. 

9 (b) ENFORCEMENT BY THE COMMISSION.— 

10 (1) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRAC11 TICES.—A violation of subsection (a) or a regulation 

12 promulgated thereunder shall be treated as a violation 

13 of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or prac14 tice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 

15 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

16 (2) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

18 enforce this section in the same manner, by the 

19 same means, and with the same jurisdiction, 

20 powers, and duties as though all applicable 

21 terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Com22 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incor23 porated into and made a part of this section. 

24 (B) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—Any 

25 person that violates subsection (a) shall be subVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:03 Dec 14, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1421.RS S1421
15 

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1 ject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges 

2 and immunities provided in the Federal Trade 

3 Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) as though 

4 all applicable terms and provisions of that Act 

5 were incorporated and made part of this section. 

6 (C) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in 

7 this section may be construed to limit the au8 thority of the Commission under any other pro9 vision of law. 

10 (D) RULEMAKING.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

12 shall promulgate in accordance with section 

13 553 of title 5, United States Code, such 

14 rules as may be necessary to carry out this 

15 section. 

16 (ii) CONSULTATION.—In promulgating 

17 any regulations under clause (i), the Com18 mission shall consult with U.S. Customs 

19 and Border Protection. 

20 (3) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—Not later than 

21 6 months after the date of enactment of this section, 

22 the Commission, the Commissioner for U.S. Customs 

23 and Border Protection, the Commissioner of Food and 

24 Drugs, the United States Trade Representative, and 

25 the Secretary of Agriculture shall— 

16 

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1 (A) enter into a Memorandum of Under2 standing or other appropriate agreement for the 

3 purpose of providing consistent implementation 

4 of this section; and 

5 (B) publish such Memorandum of Under6 standing or other agreement in order to provide 

7 public guidance. 

8 (c) AUTHORITY PRESERVED.—Nothing in this section 

9 may be construed to— 

10 (1) limit the authority of the Department of Ag11 riculture, the Food and Drug Administration, or U.S. 

12 Customs and Border Protection under any other pro13 vision of law; or 

14 (2) require the Commission to interpret, modify, 

15 or enforce regulations promulgated by such agencies 

16 unless as provided by the Memorandum of Under17 standing or other agreement entered into under sub18 section (b)(3)(A). 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

20 1 year after the date of the publication of the Memorandum 

21 of Understanding or other agreement under subsection 

22 (b)(3)(B). 

23 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

24 shall be construed to require an online store, an online mar25 ketplace, or a seller to include a description of a product 

17 

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1 introduced, sold, or offered for sale in interstate commerce 

2 other than a notice of the country of origin as required by 

3 subsection (a). 

4 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

6 means the Federal Trade Commission. 

7 (2) ONLINE MARKETPLACE.—The term ‘‘online 

8 marketplace’’ has the meaning given such term in sec9 tion 301(f) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

10 2023 (15 U.S.C. 45f(f)). 

11 (3) ONLINE STORE.—The term ‘‘online store’’ 

12 means a person or entity that operates a consumer13 directed, electronically based or accessed website that 

14 sells products to consumers over the internet for itself 

15 or on behalf of third party sellers. 

16 (4) PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘product’’ has the 

17 meaning given the term ‘‘article of foreign origin’’ in 

18 section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

19 1304). 

20 (5) SELLER.—The term ‘‘seller’’ has the meaning 

21 given such term in section 301(f) of the Consolidated 

22 Appropriations Act, 2023 (15 U.S.C. 45f(f)). 

23 (6) SMALL SELLER.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘small seller’’ 

25 means a seller on an online marketplace that, in 

18 

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1 any consecutive 12-month period during the pre2 vious 24 months, has— 

3 (i) annual sales of less than an aggre4 gate total of $20,000 in gross revenues; and 

5 (ii) fewer than 200 discrete sales or 

6 transactions (excluding sales of used or pre7 viously owned products). 

8 (B) CLARIFICATION.—For the purposes of 

9 calculating the number of discrete sales or trans10 actions or the aggregate gross revenues under 

11 subparagraph (A), a seller shall only be required 

12 to count sales or transactions made through the 

13 online marketplace and for which payment was 

14 processed by the online marketplace, either di15 rectly of through its payment processor. 

16 (7) USED OR PREVIOUSLY OWNED PRODUCT.— 

17 The term ‘‘used or previously owned product’’ means 

18 a product that was previously sold or offered for sale 

19 in interstate commerce. 

20 SEC. 3. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR COOKED KING 

21 CRAB AND TANNER CRAB AND COOKED AND 

22 CANNED SALMON. 

23 Section 281(7)(B) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 

24 of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638(7)(B)) is amended— 

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1 (1) by striking the period at the end and insert2 ing a semicolon; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘includes a fillet’’ and inserting 

4 the following: ‘‘includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) a fillet’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) whole cooked king crab and tan8 ner crab and cooked king crab and tanner 

9 crab sections; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) cooked and canned salmon.’’. 

Calendar No. 289 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1421 

A BILL 

To require origin and location disclosure for new 

internet. products of foreign origin offered for sale on the 

DECEMBER 13, 2023 

Reported with an amendment