Polling shows 83% of Americans want more access to U.S.-made goods.
For Immediate Release: September 3, 2026
Washington, D.C. — The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) sent a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, urging the agency to investigate whether AI-powered shopping assistants used by online retailers, like Amazon and Walmart, may be steering consumers to imported products while making it harder to find American-made alternatives.
“Consumers should not have to outsmart an algorithm to find American-made products,” writes AAM President Scott Paul. “Nor should online marketplaces be allowed to benefit from vague, inconsistent, or contradictory country-of-origin practices that make it easier for foreign imports to compete against goods made by American workers.”
The letter follows reporting that AI-powered shopping assistants may provide inconsistent country-of-origin information to consumers and may struggle to identify American-made products while readily finding foreign-made goods. Meanwhile, these AI assistants appear to be capable of identifying conflicting or potentially deceptive “Made in USA” fraud within the retailers’ own product listings.
The letter argues that country-of-origin information is material to consumers’ purchasing decisions and that AI shopping tools should provide accurate, accessible and non-misleading information when consumers seek products made in the United States.
An overwhelming majority (83%) of Americans would buy more American-made goods if the products were more widely available, according to polling conducted by Morning Consult on the Alliance for American Manufacturing’s behalf.
MORE KEY POLLING:
- When given a choice between a U.S.-made product and a similar imported product, 82% of Americans said they would select the American-made option.
- The majority (76%) of Americans prefer to buy products made in the U.S.
- Although 51% of Americans state that it is easy to determine where a product is made, 35% report that finding this information is difficult.
- Three-in-four (77%) Americans support requiring online retailers to display country-of-origin labels as physical stores do, with nearly half (45%) expressing strong support.
BACKGROUND:
On July 8, 2025, the FTC warned both Amazon and Walmart in separate letters that they must “monitor, identify, and take corrective action against third-party sellers who make false or misleading ‘Made in USA’ claims on your online marketplace,” as well as identifying several examples of this fraud via third-party sellers on their websites.
The FTC regulates “Made in USA” claims under its authority to prohibit unfair or deceptive acts or practices in advertising. If a company markets a product with a “Made in USA” label, the agency mandates that “all or virtually all” of the product’s parts and processing are of U.S.-origin. If the product fails to meet that standard, the FTC may require marketers to fix deceptive advertisements or impose civil penalties.
Find AAM’s letter to the FTC here and Made in America poll results here.
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