[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3707 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3707

 To require clear disclosure of seller location and country-of-origin 
   labeling for products advertised for sale on the internet and to 
prohibit false and misleading representation of United States origin on 
                   products, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 13, 2020

 Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Murphy, and Mrs. 
   Loeffler) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require clear disclosure of seller location and country-of-origin 
   labeling for products advertised for sale on the internet and to 
prohibit false and misleading representation of United States origin on 
                   products, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Country Of Origin Labeling Online 
Act'' or the ``COOL Online Act''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY ORIGIN AND LOCATION DISCLOSURE FOR PRODUCTS 
              ADVERTISED FOR SALE ON THE INTERNET.

    (a) In General.--It shall be unlawful for a product to be 
introduced, sold, advertised, or offered for sale in commerce on an 
internet website unless the internet website description of the 
product--
            (1)(A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), indicates in 
        a conspicuous place the country of origin of the product, in a 
        manner consistent with the regulations prescribed under section 
        304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304) and the country 
        of origin marking regulations administered by U.S. Customs and 
        Border Protection; or
            (B) includes, in the case of--
                    (i) a new passenger motor vehicle (as defined in 
                section 32304 of title 49, United States Code), the 
                disclosure required by such section;
                    (ii) a textile fiber product (as defined in section 
                2 of the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (15 
                U.S.C. 70b)), the disclosure in labeling required by 
                such Act;
                    (iii) a wool product (as defined in section 2 of 
                the Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 (15 U.S.C. 68)), 
                the disclosure in labeling required by such Act;
                    (iv) a fur product (as defined in section 2 of the 
                Fur Products Labeling Act (15 U.S.C. 69)), the 
                disclosure in labeling required by such Act;
                    (v) a covered commodity (as defined in section 281 
                of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 
                1638)), the country of origin information required by 
                section 282 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1638a); and
                    (vi) a pharmaceutical product subject to the 
                jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, the 
                disclosure required by section 502 of the Federal Food, 
                Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 352); and
            (2) indicates in a conspicuous place the country in which 
        the seller of the product is located (and, if applicable, the 
        country in which any parent corporation of such seller is 
        located), in a manner consistent with the regulations 
        prescribed under such section 304.
    (b) Limitation.--The disclosure of a product's country of origin 
required pursuant to subsection (a)(1) shall not be made in such a 
manner as to represent to a consumer that the product is in whole, or 
substantial part, of domestic origin consistent with the decisions and 
orders of the Commission issued pursuant to section 5 of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 5).
    (c) Application to Third-Party Marketplace.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding section 230(c)(1) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)), subject to 
        paragraph (2), the requirements of this section shall apply to 
        the provider or publisher of any internet marketplace.
            (2) Limitation.--The requirements of this section shall not 
        apply to the provider or publisher of any internet website 
        marketplace that can demonstrate that it acted in good faith 
        reliance on the written designation of a product's country of 
        origin made by a product's manufacturer, marketer, or importer.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON FALSE AND MISLEADING REPRESENTATION OF UNITED 
              STATES ORIGIN ON PRODUCTS.

            (1) Unlawful activity.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, including section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Act 
        of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)(1)), it shall be unlawful to make any 
        false or deceptive representation that a product or its parts 
        or processing are of United States origin in any labeling, 
        advertising, or other promotional materials, or any other form 
        of marketing, including marketing through digital or electronic 
        means in the United States.
            (2) Deceptive representation.--For purposes of paragraph 
        (1), a representation as to United States origin is deceptive 
        if, at the time the representation is made, it cannot be 
        substantiated as an unqualified or qualified express or implied 
        origin claim in accordance with--
                    (A) the Commission's Enforcement Policy Statement 
                on U.S. Origin Claims (62 Fed. Reg. 63756 et seq.); or
                    (B) such further rules or policies as the 
                Commission may publish from time to time.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT BY COMMISSION.

    (a) Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices.--A violation of section 
2 or 3 shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or 
a deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
    (b) Powers of the Federal Trade Commission.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission shall enforce this Act in 
        the same manner, by the same means, and with the same 
        jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms 
        and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
        41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
            (2) Privileges and immunities.--Any person that violates 
        section 2 or 3 shall be subject to the penalties and entitled 
        to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) as though all applicable 
        terms and provisions of that Act were incorporated and made 
        part of this Act.
            (3) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this Act may be 
        construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any 
        other provision of law.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF COMMISSION.

    In this Act, the term ``Commission'' means the Federal Trade 
Commission.
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