WASHINGTON — The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) today released publicly for the first time a coalition letter signed by over 2,000 U.S. companies and bipartisan organizations representing American businesses and workers in support of online country-of-origin-labeling (COOL). Last July, CPA applauded the Senate passage of Senator Tammy Baldwin’s (D-WI) COOL Online Act, which would mandate that country-of-origin labeling (COOL) be clearly and conspicuously stated in any website description of a product. This would protect Americans’ right to know where the products they buy are made and help promote goods that are made in America. The bill was originally included as part of the Senate’s China competition bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (S. 1260), that passed the Senate last July by a vote of 68 to 32.
Signers of the letter include businesses from 49 states, the District of Columbia and the following organizations: Coalition for a Prosperous America, National Council of Textile Organizations, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, The Manufacturers Association of Central New York, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Action, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, and Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group.
“We represent American businesses and the hard-working men and women who are committed to American manufacturing,” the letter states. “We also stand with tens of millions of American consumers who want to know where the products they purchase are manufactured.”
“We write regarding the efforts by large online retailers and importers to remove the COOL Online Act from the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S. 1260),” the letter continues. “This important piece of legislation—sponsored by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and reported out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with overwhelming bipartisan support this month—would require that country-of-origin labeling (COOL) be clearly and conspicuously stated in any website description of a product.”
“The groups opposed to this effort apparently do not share the concerns of American consumers about importing counterfeit, unsafe, and shoddy goods from countries like China,” the letter concludes. “Their attempt to prevent the COOL Online Act from becoming law undermines the actions of policymakers on both sides of the aisle. More importantly, it harms millions of American consumers who want to know where the products they buy are made.”
Read the full letter and list of signatories here.
