We have previously reported on proposed Senate legislation that would require country of origin labeling (COOL) for imported commodities sold online. On June 8, 2021, the Senate passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 which included the proposed COOL requirements in Section 2510 of the Act.

The Act as passed by the Senate is virtually unchanged from the proposed legislation that we reported on. As a recap, the legislation would require that a wide variety of imported commodities sold online be accompanied by the following disclosures on the website “in a conspicuous place”:

• The country of origin of the product, consistent with U.S. Customs and Borders Protection (CBP) marking requirements; and

• The country of origin in which the seller is located (and, if applicable, the location of any parent corporation)

• Further, the online disclosures for certain categories of goods already subject to existing specialized COOL requirements would also be required to comply with these existing requirements. Importantly, products covered by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) COOL would have to comply AMS’s COOL requirements in the online disclosure.

The legislation would be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but would require that FTC and CBP sign a memorandum of understanding to provide for consistent implementation of the legislation. Having passed the Senate, the legislation now will move to the House of Representatives for consideration. We will continue to monitor and report on any developments.