Five Ways Companies Trick You Into Thinking Their Products Are Made in the USA

A lot of Americans are enduring a crash course in an economic term that was, until very recently, pretty obscure: tariffs. Economics can get pretty complicated, and knowing the ins and outs of tariff policies and how they might—or might not!—impact consumer prices is challenging, but there’s one thing that’s clear about tariffs: They mainly impact imported goods. Products that are made domestically won’t be affected, especially if the components and ingredients used are also sourced domestically.

That should make evading tariff price hikes pretty straightforward: Just look for stuff that was made in America, right? This isn’t foolproof, but it’s a reasonable strategy. The problem with this seemingly simple strategy, though, is that it’s actually very easy for companies to be deceptive about where their products are actually made. If you’re trying to support American manufacturing and evade the economic impact of tariffs, you need to know these tricks that companies play to make you think their product was made in the USA.

Wording

The first thing to look at is the words used to describe the product. The precise phrase “made in USA” is a standard defined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as a product that is made “all or virtually all” in the United States, including Washington D.C. and territories. It’s a pretty stringent standard, so products that use imported materials or that are manufactured globally can’t use the “made in USA” label.

They can, however, use similar language, like:

• Assembled in America

• Manufactured in the USA

• Designed in the USA

• Inspired by American Craftsmanship

None of those phrases mean anything, legally, but if you’re not researching every product you encounter, you might reasonably assume they mean the product is made here.

Another way companies can trick you with “made in USA” is to include the phrase in its product description or marketing in a different context. For example, there might be a sentence stating that the product performs better than other products made in USA. They’re not actually stating that their product is made in America, but the inclusion of the phrase gives the impression that it is.

Imagery

A subtle way companies try to imply products are made in the USA when they really aren’t is through simple imagery: American flags, bald eagles, and red-white-and-blue color schemes all look patriotic and domestic without actually meaning anything. Similarly, maps of the continental United States are iconic and instantly recognizable and imply that the product is made right here in America, but don’t actually say anything at all.

Sometimes flags and other American iconography are used in conjunction with a specific landmark that’s instantly recognizable as American, like the Statue of Liberty or the Washington Monument. This emphasizes the “American-ness” of the product without making any specific (or actionable) claims about its origins or place of manufacture.

Disclaimers

The legal disclaimer is an old-school tactic to evade responsibility for deceptive practices, and it’s alive and well. Companies sometimes sell items that heavily imply they’re made in the USA, but include a disclaimer somewhere advising consumers otherwise.

A prime example of this is on Walmart's website, where a disclaimer reading, in part, “For certain items sold by Walmart on Walmart.com, the displayed country of origin information may not be accurate or consistent with manufacturer information” appears on dozens of items sold through the website. Essentially, the disclaimer admits that some of the products are deceptive about their origins, and it’s up to you to deep dive into the product info to find out the truth.

Headquarter focus

One easy trick a company can use to fool you into thinking their products are made right here in the U.S. is to over-emphasize their corporate headquarters. By repeatedly stating that the company is “based in” an American city or state, they forge a psychological connection between their products and the U.S. But just because a company’s corporate presence is in the U.S. doesn’t mean its manufacturing is, too. If you make the assumption that this means the product is made here, well, that’s on you.

Broad definition

Another tricky way companies pretend their stuff is made right here in the U.S. is to use a broad definition of “America”—in the sense of “the Americas,” including North, South, and Central America. Semantically accurate, this phrase allows you to assume “America” means the USA while the items are actually made in Mexico or Canada. For example, boot company Lucchese uses the phrase a lot in their marketing, but many of their boots are made in Mexico, China, and Brazil.