To amend chapter 11 of title 35, United States Code, to require the voluntary collection of demographic information for patent inventors, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill requires online stores, online marketplaces (like Amazon or eBay), and individual sellers to display the country of origin for foreign-made products sold on the internet. The disclosure must be conspicuous and consistent with existing Tariff Act marking requirements. The bill also requires over-the-counter drugs sold online to display manufacturer information.
Who Benefits and How
Consumers benefit from increased transparency when shopping online, allowing them to make informed purchasing decisions about where products are manufactured. Domestic manufacturers may benefit as consumers can more easily identify and potentially prefer American-made products. Large retailers with compliance infrastructure may gain competitive advantage as they can more easily absorb compliance costs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Online marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, etc.) must build systems to collect and display country of origin information from sellers. Foreign product importers and distributors face new disclosure requirements and must provide origin information to retailers. Small sellers (under $20,000 in annual sales and fewer than 200 transactions) are exempt, but mid-sized online sellers face new compliance burdens. The FTC must promulgate rules and enforce the new requirements.
Key Provisions
- Makes it unlawful to sell foreign-origin products online without conspicuous country of origin disclosure
- Exempts food products under USDA/FDA jurisdiction, used products, and small sellers
- Establishes safe harbor for retailers who rely in good faith on third-party origin representations
- Requires interagency coordination (FTC, CBP, USDA, FDA, USTR) via Memorandum of Understanding
- Takes effect 12 months after the MOU is published
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires online retailers, marketplaces, and sellers to disclose country of origin information for foreign-made products sold on the internet, with enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.
Key Policy Areas
Consumer Protection, Trade, E-Commerce
Primary Purpose
Requires online retailers, marketplaces, and sellers to disclose country of origin information for foreign-made products sold on the internet, with enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.
Policy Domains
Section 2 - Mandatory Origin Disclosure
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Consumers shopping online
- Domestic manufacturers
- Federal Trade Commission
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Online marketplaces
- Foreign product importers and distributors
- E-commerce retailers
- Third-party sellers on marketplaces
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Mr. Durbin, without amendment
Ms. Hirono (for herself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Coons, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Diversity policy researchers and advocates, Patent inventors filing applications
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_commission"
- → Federal Trade Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given such term in section 301(f) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (15 U.S.C. 45f(f))
Has the meaning given the term article of foreign origin in section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1304)
A person or entity that operates a consumer-directed, electronically based or accessed website that sells products to consumers over the internet for itself or on behalf of third party sellers
A seller on an online marketplace with annual sales of less than $20,000 in gross revenues and fewer than 200 discrete sales or transactions in any consecutive 12-month period during the previous 24 months
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology