Houston partner David Ivey was quoted in the April 16, 2010, MSNBC.com article, "New Balance Sidesteps FTC Ad Rules."
According to the article, fifteen years after a contentious legal battle set off a national debate on what it means to be "Made in the USA," Boston-based shoemaker New Balance continues to sidestep the federal "all or virtually all" standard that governs the advertising claim. While the Federal Trade Commission's rules on labeling a product's country of origin are complex and can be confusing, the agency is clear on the standard for "unqualified" Made in America claims.
Enforcing the rules sounds simple enough, but the "all or virtually all" standard has to be applied on a case-by-case review. It takes roughly 40 pages to spell out the FTC's rules for making the Made in America claim, according to the article. "That's part of the overall confusion in this," said Ivey, who advises clients on trade matters. "I can have something that's 51 percent U.S.-made and sell it to the U.S. government under the Buy American Act. But I can't put the American flag on it and sell it to the American people."As American companies continue to expand their manufacturing operations around the world, a Made in America claim is still a strong marketing tool. That may be why New Balance continues to adhere to its own definition of the claim and not the FTC's, according to Ivey. "Their sales volume may be sufficiently high that they say 'Look, having this product advertised as Made in USA is sufficiently important to us we're willing to take that one-time risk,'" he said.