What’s it take to prove that your product was “Made in USA”?
Bashlin Industries is a manufacturer of equipment for professional lineworkers. It asserted that one of its climber tools was made in the U.S. Not so, ruled the National Advertising Division of BBB National Programs, an industry self-regulating body. Turns out that the company couldn’t nail down the origin of a particular buckle and screw — which accounted for less than 5% of the product’s total cost, but were determined to be so important to its function that the company failed to meet the “all or virtually all” requirement for domestic content. So, what does constitute a “Made in USA” designation? On this episode, we get clarification from Julia Solomon Ensor, counsel to the Advertising and Media Industry Group at Reed Smith LLP. She’s also a former Made in USA program manager for the Federal Trade Commission. Given all the attention these days on reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., what’s actually being made where is turning out to be an increasingly sensitive issue. How should manufacturers respond? Hosted by Bob Bowman, Editor-in-Chief of SupplyChainBrain.
Show notes:
A blog post from Reed Smith: “The NAD Tells Bashlin to Buckle Up Its ‘Made in USA’ Claims.”