To the delight of many manufactures (and likely the detriment to business model of some class action lawsuit attorneys), Gov. Jerry Brown’s has signed into law an amendment California’s “Made in the U.S.A” law. The bill, co-authored by Republican Assemblyman Brian Jones of Santee and Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill of San Mateo, changes California’s 100 percent “Made in America” labeling standard to allow conformity to the federal standard used by the 49 other states.
The change allows products sold in the state to be labeled as “Made in the U.S.A.” as long as no more than 5 percent of the wholesale value of the product is not made overseas. That level increases in some circumstances to 10 percent, according to the text of the amendment.
Previously, companies were prohibited from using the label if any portion of their product was made outside the country. Manufacturers dealt with the strict definition by adding labels that said things such as “Made in the USA with imported components.” Some manufacturers found the old requirements onerous. It was difficult to isolate products sold in California from those they sold in other states, which often had more lenient laws, or those that complied with the federal definition, which allowed the label if minor parts were made overseas.
“The legislature – after 5 years of working on this issue – has finally undone an overly burdensome regulation that has hurt California manufacturers since the 1960’s,” said Jones.
The new legislation takes effect Jan. 1.
