The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted on Nov. 18, 2015, to send S. 1518, the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act of 2015, to the full Senate without amendment. The bill would make the federal government’s authority over “Made in the U.S.A.” labels exclusive for products sold in interstate or foreign commerce.
What the bill would do
S. 1518 would amend the 1994 law that gives the Federal Trade Commission authority over Made in USA labels. FTC rules would then override any state law on when a product sold across state lines or exported may be labeled as made in the USA.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the bill on June 4, 2015. Its cosponsors were Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine.
The California backdrop
Trade law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg said the measure appeared to respond to California’s Made in USA law, which had been stricter than the FTC standard. Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill easing the California rule on Sept. 1, 2015.
What happened next
The committee formally reported the bill on March 7, 2016, and it was placed on the Senate calendar, but it never received a floor vote. Later versions were reintroduced, and in 2021 the Senate passed one (our coverage).
Source & credit
Sources: Congressional Record Daily Digest: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation business meeting, Nov. 18, 2015; Senate Commerce Committee: executive session agenda; GovTrack: S. 1518 (114th Congress); Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg: “Legislative Update: Leadership Shuffle, ‘Made in USA’ Labeling, Freight Transportation”, Nov. 20, 2015.