Federal and Regulatory Legal Actions

• FTC targets deceptive "Made in USA" claims with warning letters to four companies.

• Amazon and Walmart notified over suspect product listings by third-party sellers.

• Agency reaffirms strict compliance with "Made in USA" labeling standards.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has taken steps to encourage U.S. manufacturing, even placing tariffs on products made elsewhere. The Federal Trade Commission sent out a wave of warning letters this week to companies it says are stretching the truth in that regard.

The agency cautioned four manufacturers and sent notices to retail giants Amazon and Walmart regarding potentially deceptive labeling practices by third-party sellers on their platforms.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson underscored the significance of accurate labeling in a statement accompanying the announcement.

“’Made in the USA’ is not just a slogan – it’s a sign that a product connects us to the workers and businesses that make America great,” Ferguson said. “Consumers want to have confidence that when they buy something labelled ‘Made in the USA’ they are actually supporting American workers and the American economy. Companies that falsely claim their products are ‘Made in the USA’ can expect to hear from the FTC.”

Companies named in the warning

The warning letters target four businesses whose products are allegedly mislabeled or insufficiently substantiated as U.S.-made:

• Americana Liberty, a flagpole retailer

• Oak Street Manufacturing, LLC, a footwear manufacturer

• Pro Sports Group LLC, a football equipment company

• USA Big Mountain Paper Inc., a personal care product maker

The companies were reminded that under the FTC Act and the Made in USA Labeling Rule, any product marketed as “Made in USA” must be “all or virtually all” made in the United States. The FTC instructed them to either halt such marketing or provide clear substantiation.

Failure to comply can result in legal consequences, including subpoenas, federal lawsuits, injunctive actions, and civil penalties.

Amazon and Walmart are also under scrutiny

In addition to targeting individual manufacturers, the FTC sent letters to Amazon and Walmart, emphasizing that their platforms host third-party sellers making questionable “Made in USA” assertions. The agency warned that such representations may violate both the FTC Act and the platforms’ own seller policies.

The letters serve not only as a warning but also as a guide, reminding online marketplaces of 

The FTC said the regulatory action is part of the FTC’s broader July campaign to reinforce the importance of accurate origin labeling. The agency said it is promoting consumer trust in American-made products while ensuring companies adhere to federal standards.

The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly launched a civil fraud investigation into insurance giant UnitedHealth concerning its practices involving Medicare Advantage plans.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cites “people familiar with the matter,” the probe is examining UnitedHealth’s practices for recording a patient’s diagnosis that results in an extra payment by Medicare. Those payments allegedly went to the company’s Medicare Advantage plans.

Under Medicare Advantage, health insurance companies receive payments from the U.S. government to monitor and manage recipients’ benefits. If a patient has a certain diagnosis, the payments increase. 

The Journal has been investigating the matter for several months and has interviewed a number of healthcare providers. The newspaper’s reporting claimed that Medicare paid UnitedHealth billions of dollars for “questionable diagnoses.”

The Journal’s previous reporting cited doctors who claimed UnitedHealth trained them to make “revenue-producing diagnoses,” some that were described as “obscure or irrelevant.”

According to the Journal, neither UnitedHealth nor any government agency has offered a comment on the report.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been issuing a spate of new regulations in advance of the inauguration of President-elect Trump. Now the American Bankers Association (ABA) has responded, with a letter urging Trump to pause all new regulations affecting banks and extend the deadlines for regulations that have already been finalized.

In the letter, they argue that this pause is needed to give the new administration's teams time to review and understand years of rules, guidance, and policies that they say have limited the ability of banks to respond to market changes.

“A new, commonsense approach to financial regulation is urgently needed, and that process can begin quickly by announcing an immediate regulatory pause and review,” the bankers said.

They also recommend that the Treasury Department conduct a comprehensive review of regulations under the Biden Administration, focusing on their impact on access to credit and capital markets.

CFPB actions have included:

• tougher scrutiny of overdraft and NSF fees;
• a medical debt rule that prohibits including medical debt in credit ratings;
• suing banks for fraud on Zelle;
• cracking down on student loan refinancing, servicing and debt collection; and
• closed a loophole that exempted overdraft loans from lending laws.

The banking associations argue that recent regulatory actions have hurt the ability of banks to provide credit and capital.

They contended that for the past several years, “the federal banking agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the capital markets regulators have pursued an aggressive and misguided regulatory agenda, upending longstanding, tested banking practices with questionable and unnecessary policy actions that undermine our members’ ability to provide capital and credit to Main Street.”