Saturday, June 12, 2021 | 2 a.m.
One significant result of the COVID-19 pandemic is that U.S. consumers have become more interested in buying American-made products. Recent polling shows that 40% of all consumers will no longer buy anything made in China. This is good news for America’s manufacturers, as the poll also found that nearly 80% would be willing to pay more to see production move from China back to the United States.
Clearly, Americans want to buy products stamped “Made in America.” Unfortunately, Amazon, Walmart and other large online retailers are trying to block legislation that would make these shopping choices easier.
Last year, Sen. Tammy Baldwin,D-Wis., introduced the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) Online Act. Her bill would mandate prominent labeling of country-of-origin and seller location for all products sold on the internet. Such product descriptions could help Americans find out what they’re buying online and from whom, particularly if they’re hoping to buy American-made goods — or avoid purchasing products made in China.
Requiring country-of-origin labeling should be a no-brainer, since U.S. law only mandates that a product’s external packaging display its place of origin. At present, however, e-commerce websites often don’t include country-of-origin information — since labeling laws were written before the advent of online shopping.
Baldwin’s bill easily passed a Senate committee last month with bipartisan…
