FTC: Made In The USA Comments Concerning Don Judge--P894219 [GRAPHIC]Montana StateAFL-CIO 110 West 13th Street
· PO Box 1176 · Helena, Montana 59624 July 25, 1997 Made in USA Policy Comment Dear Commissioners, On behalf of the Montana State AFL-CIO, I'm writing to urge the Federal Trade Commission to maintain the current standard for the "Made in USA" label. The "Made in USA" label gives American consumers confidence that products bearing this label were made in our country. Weakening the current standard would mislead and deceive consumers who have a right to know if a product was made wholly, partially or not at all in the United States. In addition, the label promotes pride for the American workforce and for American business. We recognize there is considerable commercial value to products that do bear the "Made in USA" label. Consumers look for this tag, and will purchase products over others that do not have the label. If a business wants to take advantage of this American pride, they should ensure that their products can legitimately show the “Made in USA” label, rather than attempt to weaken the standards to accommodate moving their operations overseas. And last, if the proposed guidelines go forward, more American jobs will be moved overseas as manufacturers take advantage of cheap foreign labor while still enjoying the marketing prestige of the “Made in USA” label. We strongly urge you to not dilute the meaning of the words "Made in USA." Thank you for considering our views. Respectfully submitted, Don JudgeDon Judge cc: Senator Max Baucus, Senator Conrad Burns, Montana Central Labor Councils, Charles Mercer, Union Label and Service Trades Department, AFL-CIO |