The short answer: an unqualified "Made in USA" claim means all or virtually all of the product is made in the United States. That is a federal standard, set and enforced by the FTC. "Assembled in USA" is a different, weaker claim with its own rules. "Designed in USA" and "American company" are not claims about where something was made at all.

Clothing has extra rules on top of that, and they are the ones most worth knowing if you shop the roundups on this site. Here is each label, what it requires, and where to read the rule yourself.

"Made in USA": all or virtually all

The FTC's standard for an unqualified "Made in USA" claim has three parts. i FTC - Complying with the Made in USA Standard

  • Final assembly or processing happens in the United States.
  • All significant processing happens in the United States.
  • All or virtually all ingredients or components are made and sourced in the United States, with no or negligible foreign content.

"Virtually all" is not a percentage. The FTC looks at how much of the total manufacturing cost is domestic, how far removed any foreign content is from the finished product, and how important that foreign content is to what the product is and does. A foreign part that is essential to how the product works counts for more than its price suggests.

The same standard covers "American-made", "USA", "Built in USA" and "Manufactured in USA". The wording changes. The rule does not.

The 2021 labeling rule gave it teeth

In 2021 the FTC turned the standard into a formal rule for labels, the Made in USA Labeling Rule. i eCFR - 16 CFR Part 323, Made in USA Labeling It covers product labels and the same claim in mail-order and online catalogs. A company that puts an unqualified Made in USA label on a product that does not meet the standard now faces civil penalties for each violation. The maximum was set at $53,088 per violation in 2025 and is adjusted for inflation. i Federal Register - FTC civil penalty adjustments, January 2025

Claims in other advertising are still policed under the FTC Act's general ban on deceptive practices.

"Assembled in USA": the work happened here, the parts may not have

A product made with foreign components can say "Assembled in USA" without further qualification. Two conditions apply. The principal assembly has to happen here and be substantial. And the product's last substantial transformation has to happen here. Screwing together a kit of imported parts does not qualify. i FTC - Complying with the Made in USA Standard

So an "Assembled in USA" product carries real American labor, and that labor is often skilled. It tells you nothing about where the parts came from. It is the honest label for a lot of good products. It is not the same promise as "Made in USA", and a brand that uses the two interchangeably is telling you something.

Qualified claims: "Made in USA of imported…"

When a product has meaningful domestic content but does not meet the all-or-virtually-all bar, a company can make a qualified claim that says how much is domestic. "60% U.S. content" is one FTC example. "Assembled in USA from Italian leather and a Mexican frame" is another. i FTC - Complying with the Made in USA Standard

The qualification has to be true and has to match the product. The FTC's own example is a treadmill whose major parts are mostly imported. Labeling it "Made in USA of U.S. and Imported Parts" would be deceptive, because it suggests a balance that is not there. "Made in U.S. from Imported Parts" or "Assembled in U.S.A." would be accurate. The FTC also advises against qualified claims unless the product has a significant amount of U.S. content.

Clothing has its own law

Most products are not required to say where they were made. Clothing is. The Textile and Wool Acts require a country-of-origin label on most clothing and household textiles. i FTC - Threading Your Way Through the Labeling Requirements Under the Textile and Wool Acts The rules are specific:

  • "Made in U.S.A." is allowed only if the garment is made completely in the United States from U.S.-made materials. Imported fabric that is only dyed or finished here does not qualify.
  • "Made in U.S.A. of imported fabric" is the required wording when the sewing happens here but the fabric does not. The label has to disclose the imported material.
  • Work done in two countries must name both. "Made in Sri Lanka, finished in U.S.A." is the FTC's example.
  • Placement is regulated. On a garment with a neck, the origin label goes on the inside center of the neck, on the front of the label, and cannot be covered by another label.

That last rule is the most useful thing on this page. On a shirt, jacket or hoodie, the truth is inside the collar by law. If the marketing says one thing and the neck label says another, the neck label is the one a regulator checks.

Labels that make no origin claim

"Designed in USA" describes where a product was designed. It says nothing about where it was manufactured.

"American company" or "American brand" describes where the business is based. Plenty of American companies make everything abroad.

Flags, eagles and "American heritage" are marketing. None of them is a manufacturing claim, so none of them is a promise you can hold the company to.

Union-made is a separate question from American-made, covered in union made vs. American made.

Companies the FTC has called out

Williams-Sonoma agreed in 2020 to stop overly broad Made in USA claims on products including Goldtouch bakeware and Pottery Barn Teen and Kids furniture, and paid $1 million. i FTC - Williams-Sonoma settlement, March 2020 In 2024 it paid a record $3.175 million civil penalty for violating that order, including mattress pads marketed as "Crafted in America from domestic and imported materials" that were made in China. i FTC - Williams-Sonoma record civil penalty, April 2024

Lithionics Battery was the first case brought under the 2021 labeling rule. Its batteries were labeled "Made in U.S.A." but used imported lithium-ion cells. The company and its owner paid $105,319.56, three times the profits from the claim. i FTC - First case under the Made in USA Labeling Rule

Sandpiper of California marketed backpacks, bags and wallets as American-made. The FTC said more than 95% of its products were imported as finished goods, and that some wallets hid the true origin on the back of tags. The order was finalized in 2019. i FTC - Sandpiper and PiperGear, September 2018

Shinola dropped its "Where American is Made" slogan after an FTC inquiry in 2016. That story is in brands that moved manufacturing back.

Using this when you shop

Read the label in the order a regulator would. The country-of-origin label first, then any qualifier, then the marketing. For the step-by-step version of how we check a brand before it goes into a roundup, read how to check if a product is really American-made. For why the real thing costs more, read why American-made costs more.

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