‘Made in USA’ Label Elusive

By Jerry Lynott, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Jul. 6–The Ford logos are prominently placed on Kevin Wayman’s 1998 Taurus SE.

Less conspicuous is the sticker on the rear window indicating the car was made in Chicago.

The automaker’s familiar script is there by design, the sticker by law.

The U.S. content of automobiles, textile, wool and fur products must be disclosed. That’s not the case with the rest of the products consumers can choose from; so, depending upon the product, finding something labeled “Made in USA” can be a chore.

Check the label inside a pair of jeans or look at the box containing a small appliance and more than likely they’ve been made elsewhere.

The result: The nation’s trade deficit reached $60.9 billion in April, according to the latest government data. The United States exported $155.5 billion worth of goods and services and imported $216.4 billion.

The U.S. recorded the highest deficit of $20.2 billion in goods with trading partner China, followed by $15.1 billion for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In comparison, the nation showed surpluses of $1.4 billion each with Hong Kong and Singapore.

For Wayman, knowing the used sedan was American-made was a deciding factor in him buying it.

“It’s a great car,” said the former Binghamton, N.Y., resident who recently moved to the Wilkes-Barre area to work.

Parts are easily available for the car, which has 175,000 miles on it. “It’s still running great,” Wayman said.

He’s less choosy when shopping for other goods, he said before entering the Target store in Wilkes-Barre Township.

That’s not the case with Frank and Ann Spagnuolo.

“I prefer to buy things from the U.S.,” said Frank Spagnuolo, as the couple guided a shopping cart loaded with a boxed Black & Decker water cooler to their Honda parked close to the store.

“We always look for American brand names,” added Ann Spagnuolo.

But for them, the ultimate decision to buy an American-made product often comes down to price and availability. The water cooler they bought was imported.

That’s not surprising to Wilkes University marketing professor Anne Heineman Batory, Ph.D.

Her last American-made purchases were New Balance shoes and a handcrafted pottery bowl from an artist in Maine, she said in an e-mail.

Batory said there is an abundance of domestically produced goods, especially in the high-quality and artisan areas.

“The problem is in the low-cost, mass-produced product lines,” she said.

For items such as shoes, clothing and toys, the lowest prices “are achieved by having the product or its component parts made abroad.”

The impact of consumers’ choice resonates beyond the economic to the symbolic, Batory said.

Some see their purchase of a product with a “Made in USA” label as “a symbol of patriotism and belief in the values of our country,” she said. For others, the idea of fair labor practices comes into play.

And for yet others, the desire to support locally owned businesses is a factor.

The Federal Trade Commission requires products that make the “Made in USA” claim to prove it and set a standard that “all or virtually all” of the product is made in America.

“When we buy locally produced goods and services, we are supporting local entrepreneurs and businesses and strengthening the quality of life in our own area,” Batory said.

And such purchases aid the state, added David N. Taylor, executive director of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association.

“We all need to be concerned about this,” he said.

From July 2000 to the present, Pennsylvania has lost 220,000 manufacturing jobs, Taylor said.

Approximately three times as many remain, but it’s important that the state do its best to increase that number, he said.

Within the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre labor market, the state Department of Labor and Industry counted 32,500 manufacturing jobs in May. The region includes Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties.

“Manufacturing is the top of the food chain,” Taylor said.

Manufacturers yield the finished product, but along the way, manufacturing creates jobs in the supply chain and all the way down to the distribution network.

Though his focus as an industry advocate is on elected officials and government leaders who create the nation’s trade policies, Taylor issued a public warning.

“People have to be mindful of what they’re doing,” said Taylor. “It’s big-picture stuff.”

“Made in the USA” means “all or virtually all” of the product was made in the United States, according to standards set by the Federal Trade Commission. To meet that standard, the FTC says all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. The product should contain no or negligible foreign content.

Separate federal laws govern the disclosure of content for textiles and wool products and automobiles.

Source: The Federal Trade Commission

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, can be contacted at 570 829-7237.

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Copyright (c) 2008, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

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