FTC: Made In The USA Comments Concerning Fred D. Strawser--P894219 Fred D. Strawser May 9, 1997 Office of the Secretary, "Made in the USA Policy Comment"To Whom May be Concerned: Jodie Bernstein, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection is correct in her statement "The claim that a product is "Made in USA" is important to many consumers as they make purchasing decision . . ." is correct. The balance of her comments as quoted in the press release of May 7, 1997 may not be so. When contemplating any purchase, after a desired item has caught my eye, the next place I look is the label or for any documentation indicating where the product was made. If the product was not "Made in USA" or not "Made in America", it's unlikely I'll buy it - unless I'm traveling in another country, then I choose to purchase items made in the country I'm visiting. I disfavor any recommended rules or guideline changes which liberalize product origin labeling in the United States. I favor more stringent rules on advertisers and manufacturers to fully disclose manufacturing country of origin on all products. I favor elimination of disclosure which merely states "Imported", disclosure should state from where the product is imported. Example:A mail order clothing business in the United States for many of its products will state "Made in USA", or "Made in USA of Imported Material", or "Imported" or, "Made in (country)". The disclosure "Imported" should be disallowed. A recent news story reported foreign manufacturers increasingly want a manufacturing presence in the United States because studies have concluded Americans, more so than any other nationality, tend to prefer goods “Made in USA” or, “Made in America”. While I recognize there are other reasons foreign manufacturers locate operations in the United States, the proliferation of foreign manufacturers locating in this country may bear witness to the accuracy of the studies. Most respectfully, Fred D. StrawserFred D. Strawser FINANCIAL SERVICES Fred D. Strawser is a SEC Registered Investment Advisor and a Registered Representative offering securities through Mariner Financial Services, Member NASD, S.I.P.C. 835 E. MAIN STREET P.O. BOX 57 LANCASTER, OHIO 43130 (614)653-4444 |