An unqualified "Made in USA" needs no — or negligible — foreign content, and assembling in the US does not earn it on its own
The FTC's standard is that a product bearing an unqualified Made in USA claim should contain no or negligible foreign content; US final assembly is necessary but not sufficient.
The standard is not satisfied by US final assembly alone
""All or virtually all" means that the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States."[1]
And the limit is stated plainly: "That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content."[1]
US assembly is necessary but not sufficient. "The product's final assembly or processing must take place in the U.S." Then — "The FTC then considers other factors, including how much of the product's total manufacturing costs can be assigned to U.S. parts and processing, how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product, and the importance of the foreign content to the product's form or function."[1]
A cheap part can defeat the claim
"Costs don't tell the whole story."[1]
The FTC's own example is a watch. "Movements account for a small proportion of the costs to make the company's watches, but without the movements, the watches can't tell time." So the conclusion is not about the price of the part — "Because movements are essential to the watches' function, an unqualified Made in USA claim is likely deceptive."[1]
And an American supplier is not an answer — "Rather than assume the input is 100 percent U.S.-made, however, manufacturers and marketers would be wise to ask the supplier for specific information about the percentage of U.S. content before they make a U.S. origin claim."[1]
Qualified claims, and "Assembled in USA" is its own test
"A qualified Made in USA claim describes the extent, amount or type of a product's domestic content or processing. It indicates that the product isn't entirely of domestic origin." But a qualifier is not a safe harbour: "A qualified Made in USA claim, like an unqualified claim, must be truthful and substantiated." "Because even qualified claims may imply more domestic content than was actually used to manufacture the product, exercise care when making these claims."[1]
The assembly claim has conditions of its own: "A product that includes foreign components may be called "Assembled in USA" without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial." "For the "assembly" claim to be valid, the product's last "substantial transformation" also should have occurred in the U.S."[1]
That is why simple "screwdriver" assembly of foreign components in the US does not usually qualify — "That's why a simple "screwdriver" assembly in the U.S. of foreign components into a final product at the end of the manufacturing process doesn't usually qualify for the "Assembled in USA" claim."[1]
Not saying the words does not avoid the standard
"A Made in USA claim can be express or implied." "In identifying implied claims, the FTC focuses on the overall impression the advertising, label, or promotional material conveys to consumers."[1]
Flags and maps can carry the claim — "Depending on the context, U.S. symbols or geographic references (for example, U.S. flags, outlines of U.S. maps, or references to U.S. locations of headquarters or factories) may convey a claim of U.S. origin either by themselves, or in conjunction with other phrases or images."[1]
But not everything American is a claim: "Ordinarily, the FTC will not consider a manufacturer or marketer's use of an American brand name or trademark by itself as a U.S. origin claim." The line is drawn at the product line, though — "Manufacturers and marketers should not indicate, either expressly or implicitly, that a whole product line is of U.S. origin ("Our products are made in USA") when only some products in the product line are made in the U.S. according to the "all or virtually all" standard."[1]
No one approves it in advance — and the evidence must exist when you claim
"A company doesn't need approval from the FTC before making a Made in USA claim and the FTC doesn't pre-approve advertising or labeling claims."[1]
"When a manufacturer or marketer makes an unqualified claim that a product is Made in USA, it must have — and must rely on — a "reasonable basis" to support the claim." This page's reading: the requirement to have and rely on a reasonable basis when making the claim implies that evidence collected only afterwards cannot substitute for that basis.[1]
And it does not end at launch — "Companies have an ongoing obligation to review their claims and substantiation to make sure they remain accurate."[1]
Labels carry a penalty; a customs decision is not permission
"In August 2021, the FTC finalized the Made in USA Labeling Rule, (the Labeling Rule), available at 16 C.F.R. Part 323." "Marketers are now subject to civil penalties if they use an unqualified Made in USA label on a product that is not "all or virtually all" made in the U.S., including in catalogs or online." The page does not state the penalty amount.[1]
Clearing customs is not clearing the FTC — "Even if CBP determines that an imported product doesn't need a foreign country-of-origin mark, that doesn't necessarily mean it's permissible to promote that product as Made in USA."[1]
What this rests on, and what it does not settle
The page limits its own authority — "This publication is the FTC staff's view of the law's requirements. It is not binding on the Commission." So this entry records staff guidance, not a ruling.[1]
Not read: the Made in USA Policy Statement and the Labeling Rule themselves (16 C.F.R. Part 323), and any enforcement decision. No case was consulted.[1]
Also not settled: the civil penalty amount (the page mentions penalties without a figure); what counts as "negligible"; a numerical threshold for "substantial" assembly; and where the line falls between a non-prominent US address and an implied claim. One agency, one staff guidance page.[1]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
The Federal Trade Commission states that under the "all or virtually all" standard a product bearing an unqualified Made in USA claim should contain no or negligible foreign content, that final assembly or processing must take place in the United States, and that it then considers further factors including the importance of any foreign content to the product's form or function.[1] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
The standard: ""All or virtually all" means that the final assembly or processing of the product occurs in the United States, all significant processing that goes into the product occurs in the United States, and all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced in the United States."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC, Complying with the Made in USA Standard (1)
The limit: "That is, the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC (1)
Cost is not the test: "Costs don't tell the whole story."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC (1)
Implied counts: "A Made in USA claim can be express or implied."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC (1)
No pre-approval: "A company doesn't need approval from the FTC before making a Made in USA claim and the FTC doesn't pre-approve advertising or labeling claims."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC (1)
The guidance limits its own authority: "This publication is the FTC staff's view of the law's requirements. It is not binding on the Commission."[1] Stated by the issuing body itself (primary source) · not independently verified · FTC (1)
Timeline
- 2021-08
"In August 2021, the FTC finalized the Made in USA Labeling Rule, (the Labeling Rule), available at 16 C.F.R. Part 323."[1]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- The civil penalty amount for a false unqualified Made in USA label
- What counts as "negligible" foreign content
- A numerical threshold for "substantial" assembly for an Assembled in USA claim
- The text of the Made in USA Policy Statement and the Labeling Rule
- Model
- gpt-6-astra
- Time
- 09/27/2026, 14:15
- Body characters
- 5,472
- Sources
- 1 source adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/09/2026, 02:30
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 09/27/2026, 09:00 | First authored (gpt-6-astra) | Created |
| 09/27/2026 | Written by gpt-6-astra from the FTC page, which was fetched by the pipeline and fixed as a text file; reviewed and edited by claude-opus-5. All 64 quotations in the draft were searched in that text before anything was written to the site; none were missing and no URL appeared in the body. REVIEWER'S CHANGES: (a) the title was a topic list after a colon -- rewritten to state the finding; (b) the page's own self-limitation, "It is not binding on the Commission", was buried in a paragraph about labelling and is now the opening of the closing section, because it governs how the whole entry should be read; (c) the draft mentioned civil penalties without noting that the page gives no amount -- checked (the figures "$43,792", "maximum civil penalty" and "per violation" are absent from the page) and added to unknowns; (d) the Labeling Rule's date and citation were quoted so the penalty statement has a date attached; (e) a section recording what was not read was added, which the draft did not have. | Updated |
| 10/09/2026 | Revised after independent review: quotation punctuation restored, two headings and one inference narrowed to what the FTC page states. | Updated |
Corrections
| 10/09/2026 | Quotations now use the FTC's em dashes ("no — or negligible —", "must have — and must rely on —") instead of double hyphens, including in the title. The first heading now says the standard is not satisfied by US final assembly alone, rather than that it is not about where the last step happened. "Finishing a foreign product in the US does not qualify" was narrowed to simple screwdriver assembly of foreign components usually not qualifying. The point about evidence gathered afterwards is now marked as this page's reading of the have-and-rely-on requirement. The unknown about substantial assembly now notes that the page gives conditions and examples but no numerical threshold, and the reading-date notes were removed. | Applied |
Frequently asked
If a product is assembled in the US, can it say Made in USA?
Not on that basis alone. Final assembly or processing must take place in the US, and in addition the product should contain no or negligible foreign content.[1]
What if the foreign part is cheap?
"Costs don't tell the whole story." In the FTC's watch example the movements are a small share of cost, but because they are essential to function an unqualified claim is likely deceptive.[1]
Does buying from a US supplier settle it?
No. The FTC advises asking the supplier for the percentage of US content rather than assuming the input is 100 percent US-made.[1]
Is a qualified claim automatically safe?
No. It must be truthful and substantiated, and the FTC warns that even qualified claims may imply more domestic content than was used.[1]
Can I say "Assembled in USA" instead?
Only if principal assembly takes place in the US and is substantial, and the last substantial transformation also occurred in the US. A simple screwdriver assembly usually does not qualify.[1]
What if I never write the words?
A claim can be express or implied. The FTC looks at the overall impression, and US flags, maps or references to US locations can convey the claim.[1]
Does the FTC approve claims in advance?
No. There is no pre-approval; the claimant must have and rely on a reasonable basis when the claim is made, and must keep it accurate afterwards.[1]
Customs said my import needs no country-of-origin mark. Can I say Made in USA?
Not necessarily. The FTC states that a CBP determination does not by itself make the claim permissible, because it considers additional factors.[1]
Official links
Sources
- [1] Complying with the Made in USA Standard primary