COOL Online Act

Subjects: Commerce


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1421 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require origin and location disclosure for new products of foreign 
                origin offered for sale on the internet.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Country Of Origin Labeling Online 
Act'' or the ``COOL Online Act''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY ORIGIN AND LOCATION DISCLOSURE FOR NEW PRODUCTS OF 
              FOREIGN ORIGIN OFFERED FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET.

    (a) Mandatory Disclosure.--
            (1) In general.--
                    (A) Disclosure.--Subject to subparagraph (B), it 
                shall be unlawful for a product that is marked or 
                required to be marked under section 304 of the Tariff 
                Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) to be introduced, sold, 
                advertised, or offered for sale in commerce on an 
                internet website unless the internet website 
                description of the product indicates in a conspicuous 
                place--
                            (i) the country of origin of the product 
                        (or, in the case of a multi-sourced product, 
                        the countries of origin), in a manner 
                        consistent with the regulations prescribed 
                        under such section 304; and
                            (ii) the country in which the seller of the 
                        product has its principal place of business.
                    (B) Exclusions.--
                            (i) Agricultural products.--The disclosure 
                        requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                        subparagraph (A) shall not apply to--
                                    (I) a covered commodity (as defined 
                                in section 281 of the Agricultural 
                                Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638));
                                    (II) a meat or meat food product 
                                subject to inspection under the Federal 
                                Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et 
                                seq.);
                                    (III) a poultry or poultry product 
                                subject to inspection under the Poultry 
                                Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 
                                et seq.); or
                                    (IV) an egg product subject to 
                                regulation under the Egg Products 
                                Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1031 et 
                                seq.).
                            (ii) Food and drugs.--The disclosure 
                        requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                        subparagraph (A) shall not apply to a food or 
                        drug (as those terms are defined in paragraphs 
                        (f) and (g), respectively, of section 201 of 
                        the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
                        U.S.C. 321) that is subject to the jurisdiction 
                        of the Food and Drug Administration.
                            (iii) Used or previously owned articles.--
                        The disclosure requirements under clauses (i) 
                        and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
                        any used or previously owned article sold by an 
                        internet website marketplace or a seller on an 
                        internet website marketplace. For the purposes 
                        of the preceding sentence, the term ``used or 
                        previously owned article'' means an article 
                        that was previously sold or offered for sale at 
                        retail.
                            (iv) Small seller.--The disclosure 
                        requirements under clauses (i) and (ii) of 
                        subparagraph (A) shall not apply to goods 
                        listed by a small seller. For the purposes of 
                        the preceding sentence, the term ``small 
                        seller'' means a seller with annual sales of 
                        less than $20,000 and fewer than 200 discrete 
                        sales.
                    (C) Multi-sourced products.--For purposes of 
                subparagraph (A)(i), a product shall be considered to 
                be a ``multi-sourced product'' if a seller offers for 
                sale a finished product, identical versions of which 
                are produced in multiple countries.
            (2) Certain drug products.--It shall be unlawful for a drug 
        that is not subject to section 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, 
        Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)) and that is 
        required to be marked under section 304 of the Tariff Act of 
        1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) to be offered for sale in commerce to 
        consumers on an internet website unless the internet website 
        description of the drug indicates in a conspicuous place the 
        name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or 
        distributor that is required to appear on the label of the drug 
        in accordance with section 502(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, 
        and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 352(b)).
            (3) Obligation to provide.--A manufacturer, importer, 
        distributor, seller, supplier, or private labeler seeking to 
        have a product introduced, sold, advertised, or offered for 
        sale in commerce shall provide the information identified 
        clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) or paragraph (2), as 
        applicable, to the relevant retailer.
            (4) Safe harbor.--A retailer or a seller on an internet 
        website marketplace satisfies the disclosure requirements under 
        clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) or paragraph (2), as 
        applicable, if the disclosure includes the country of origin 
        and seller information provided by a third-party manufacturer, 
        importer, distributor, seller, supplier, or private labeler of 
        the product.
    (b) Enforcement by the Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive acts or practices.--A violation of 
        subsection (a) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 
        prescribed under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
            (2) Powers of the commission.--
                    (A) In general.--The Commission shall enforce this 
                section in the same manner, by the same means, and with 
                the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all 
                applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
                Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated 
                into and made a part of this section.
                    (B) Privileges and immunities.--Any person that 
                violates subsection (a) shall be subject to the 
                penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities 
                provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
                41 et seq.) as though all applicable terms and 
                provisions of that Act were incorporated and made part 
                of this section.
                    (C) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this section 
                may be construed to limit the authority of the 
                Commission under any other provision of law.
            (3) Interagency agreement.--Not later than 6 months after 
        the date of enactment of this section, the Commission, the U.S. 
        Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of 
        Agriculture shall--
                    (A) enter into a Memorandum of Understanding or 
                other appropriate agreement for the purpose of 
                providing consistent implementation of this section; 
                and
                    (B) publish such agreement to provide public 
                guidance.
            (4) Definition of commission.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade Commission.
    (c) Limitation of Liability.--A retailer or seller is not in 
violation of subsection (a) if--
            (1) a third-party manufacturer, distributor, seller, 
        supplier, or private labeler provided the retailer or seller 
        with a false or deceptive representation as to the country of 
        origin of a product or its parts or processing; and
            (2) the retailer or seller--
                    (A) relied in good faith on that representation; 
                and
                    (B) took immediate action to remove any such false 
                or deceptive representations upon notice.
    (d) Authority Preserved.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to limit the authority of the Department of Agriculture, the Food and 
Drug Administration, or U.S. Customs and Border Protection under any 
other provision of law.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect 12 months after 
the date of the publication of the Memorandum of Understanding or 
agreement under subsection (b)(3).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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