July 19, 2018 - Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday blocked passage of S. 118, the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act, a bill that would undermine California’s strong “Made in America” labeling standards.
California requires at least 90 percent of a final product be composed of American-made parts to use the label, compared to the vague federal standard that allows products with as little as 70 percent American-made parts to qualify as “Made in America.”Senator Feinstein delivered the following remarks prior to blocking the unanimous consent request to pass the bill:
“I rise today to express concern with S. 118, the Reinforcing American-Made Products Act because it would preempt California’s strong ‘Made in America’ labeling standards.
California requires at least 90 percent of a final product be composed of American-made parts to use the label, the strongest standard in the nation. This bill would undo California’s tough standard, setting instead a watered-down national standard.
Companies could then confuse consumers by flooding the market with products sold under the ‘Made in America’ label that were built using more foreign-made components. That is why the California Attorney General and the Consumer Federation of California support keeping California’s strong standards in place.
The ‘Made in America’ label should promote U.S. manufacturing and give consumers confidence that they’re supporting American jobs. Consumers want to know that products bearing the ‘Made in America’ label are truly made in America.
Because this would undermine that confidence and preempt California’s strong standards, I believe this bill should not move by unanimous consent.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein
