By Jonathan Stempel
April 14 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it settled three lawsuits accusing companies of falsely claiming their products were made in the United States, including a case against a seller of American flags sourced from China.
Tuesday’s settlements were announced one month after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the FTC to prioritize enforcement cases against companies that target patriotic consumers with bogus “Made in America” or “Made in the USA” claims.
The FTC said Americana Liberty will reimburse $167,743 to consumers after the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company claimed that its China-sourced flag products, which also include flagpoles and military flags, were “Made in the USA,” “All-American Made” or “Built by Americans for Americans.”
A lawyer for Americana Liberty declined to comment.
The FTC said it also settled with TouchTunes Music, a New York-based maker of electronic dart boards with components from four non-U.S. countries, and Oak Street Bootmakers, a Chicago-based maker of footwear with materials from the Dominican Republic and Brazil. They will provide $625,000 and $75,000, respectively, to consumers.
None of the defendants admitted or denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
